Getting into the Game
by GracefullPhantom
Summary: I don't know how it happened, but I really don't care. I want out, but he won't let me. In fact he's the dick that brought me here. So I'm trapped, living with a bunch of characters... Smash characters. I think the worst part is that I'm actually falling in love with one of them... the sad part is, that this isn't a happy story. Rather, how I fucking survived Smash.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. So I've been meaning to post this since, like, day one when SSB4 came out. I've been hitting a couple of rough patches but I really wanted to share this because I really like what I've done so far. I have a lot of future chapters written but my problem is getting to them. If you read this, please, _please_ let me know if you like it. It would be greatly appreciated. I'm working on so many stories right now that it's hard to keep up. Anyway thank you all so much in advance, happy reading!**

* * *

 **1**

When I got out of the shower everything was normal. I mean, I left my clothes in my room but I was the only one home, so why should I worry about that right? Well shit, maybe I should have just brought them with me like I usually did.

I have a Wii U and I ended up just leaving it on with the newest smash bros in it. I was going to play the day away because I had literally _nothing_ to do. No class, no homework, no work in general. I didn't even have to clean since my apartment was rather well polished at the moment. My roommate was gone, she went to her parents for the weekend, so like I said I was just going to relax and play some smash like any normal game nerd would do.

Then it just happened. While I was showering I could hear the TV in the background. I could hear the music that comes from the video when you let it sit for too long and I was humming with it since I've heard it a hundred and one times.

There were a couple of brief times where I thought I could hear the announcer start a match, but I figured it was just my ears playing tricks on me. When I got out, wet hair and all, I wasn't expecting to be walking on hard oak wood floors. I wasn't expecting a square hallway filled with rooms, or a large split staircase in the center of the room.

I was now in a massive mansion it seemed. At first I couldn't process anything that I was seeing, but that was put on hold when I realized I wasn't wearing anything of significance. Not even a towel.

I searched but I couldn't find my room, if it even existed here, and every door I opened lead to an empty room identical to the last.

I heard the squeak of hinges and several voices from down below and I quickly ran into the closest room. I searched desperately for something to wear and upon opening a second door I was slightly stunned to see several Peach outfits lining the closet.

"Why do we have to keep doing this?" a voice passed close to the room and in a panic I grabbed an outfit and started putting it on.

"Pika Pi… Pika? Pi..."

The voice sighed loudly, "I know. I know, it sucks doesn't it? At least the game shut off."

 _How can someone understand him? Even if he is adorable that doesn't mean we know what you're saying._ I pursed my lips as the voices passed. Woah, back that truck up. Did I just hear Pikachu talking out there? And thought nothing of it?

Never mind that, I had other priorities. Looking down at what I was wearing I cringed. Bright pink fluffy dresses were not my thing. I looked around for something else, anything else, but all I saw were Peaches normal dresses and her alternate colors. And some umbrellas.

In that split instant I guess my guard had dropped because the only warning I got was the sound of the handle turning and that was it. At least I was clothed though.

"I know it's not'a either of our faults Peach but" –

I met eyes with Peach and Mario as they stumbled into the room. I felt my cheeks warm and I knew I was blushing. I had hoped to at least find something else to wear before someone spotted me, but it just didn't happen.

The two only tilted their heads though, "Are you a new challenger?"

Peach's voice was ridiculously high, but she was as adorable in real life as she was in game. Yeah I'm a girl, but who gives a shit? I can admit when someone is cute. Mario was also a lot shorter than I ever would have imagined. His head, even with his hat, just barely passed Peach's midsection. Maybe she was tall, oh or maybe she wore heals. I don't know I don't pay attention to every character's footwear.

"Who… are'a you?"

"Oh, what's wrong? Why are you in my clothes? I don't mind, but it's rather odd. If you are a new challenger shouldn't you be in the newly unlocked challengers ring?"

I gulped, suddenly finding that words were impossible. My throat closed up and for a few seconds all I could think about was how this was a really weird dream and that I was passed out in the shower.

When I didn't, or actually wasn't able to, respond, Peach and Mario became worried. Or suspicious I'm not sure. My knees felt wobbly and I leaned against the closet door for support. Peach came over to me and gently set a gloved hand onto my elbow.

"You don't look too well. Why don't we get you some different clothes? I don't think my dress suits you," she smiled widely and kindly.

Mario stepped aside as Peach led me down the hallway towards the stairs. As we walked the smashers that weren't in their rooms began to openly gawk at me. I tried my best to hide behind my wet and stringy hair but it did little to conceal my heavy blush.

I was brought to a room on the first of four levels and past the kitchen. It was a massive closet filled with clothing, inside were a bunch of outfits that looked like they would go on the Mii fighters.

"Take your time, I'll wait out here," Peach shut the door almost all the way. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding and I collapsed to the floor.

"What the fuck is going on?" my voice was barely above a whisper and it sounded even quieter next to my heavily beating heart.

I shook my head. I needed to pull myself together just long enough to figure out what's going on. I stood, feeling a little bit better, and looked around for something decent. In the back I found a bunch of plain clothes so I decided on a pair of black yoga type cutoff pants and a loose long sleeved blue tunic with a brown belt that looked as if it could be filled with ammo.

I stepped back outside and handed Peach her dress. I coughed to clear my throat and tried to push back my fear of talking to these fictional characters, "Sorry. I had nothing to wear."

Peach smiled and took her dress, "I don't mind." Her smile faded for a moment and I noticed that her dressed had poofed away, probably to return where it came from. She motioned for me to follow her and we started walking towards the dining hall where I could hear hundreds of voices, "But what are you doing here? If I may ask?"

I bit my lip. _Fuck if I know._ I didn't know how to answer her. What _was_ I doing here? Was I dreaming? Without a solid answer to give her I shrugged, "I'm not sure. I was uh, showering and then…"

"Peach! Peach there you are, the party is about to" –

I looked over to see Ike standing there open-mouthed like he had just seen a ghost. After a second the shock wore off and he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Oh. Who's your friend?"

Peach smiled and I think I saw actual sparkles, not like in the anime where they draw them in, but actual sparkles that came with a dazzling smile. "She's a new challenger. Her name is um, I'm sorry I forgot already. Could you tell me again?"

I blinked. I looked down at myself and awkwardly readjusted my belt. I didn't fit at all in this world, but as I thought that I remembered that there were other smashers that don't quite fit right. And those were the Mii's. I bit my lip, "Um. I'm a Mii fighter." It was lame, but all I had to work with.

Ike tilted his head, "Oh. The Mii's have already been introduced. Are you a new type?"

I nodded deciding that I should probably just let things happen as they are, "Recently uh created. Gunner," as far as I could think I don't ever remember creating a gunner because I didn't really like them, nor did I ever really use Mii fighters to begin with.

Ike smiled and I couldn't help but notice the hint of sorrow that came with it, "Neat. Well you're welcome to join us at the party and get yourself situated," he sent us a quick wave and hurried down the hall. Peach patted me on the back and we kept walking. Eventually I heard voices as they grew louder.

When we entered, the room was massive. Like I mean _massive._ I suppose that's the type of ball room one should expect when having a mansion of this size with this many people, but still, it was huge. I thought back to all the elements of smash and realized that all these people in here weren't just the playable characters. There were all other types too, the unlockable trophies, the final smash characters. The bad guys.

Way off in the corner I could see metal face sipping at a glass of something. He was so massive he was literally impossible to miss, then I saw the yellow devil conversing with Megaman as if it were no big deal.

All these characters… they weren't real. They couldn't be.

But the feeling of Peach's hand on my shoulder felt so real.

The sound of Rosalina's voice as she greeted us sounded distant. Her twinkling Luma was a sparkle in my eye, a nuisance almost. The heat from Charizard's breath as he stomped past sent a shiver up my spine. The sight of Kirby playing cards with King Dedede, and Bowser, and Lucario was uncomfortably breathtaking.

Palutena, Pit, and Dark Pit seemed to be in a deep conversation, laughing even at each other's jokes. Zelda passed me to talk to Link and I could smell whatever perfume she wore. The scent made me dizzy and I felt unsteady. The gentle flap of Meta Knight's wings as he flew overhead must have been what did it for me, because the next thing I knew the blurry edges around my vision were huge black spots.

My knees wobbled. I could feel them hitting against one another. I had never passed out before, I guess there always is a first for everything.

As I found the ground a more comforting sight, there was a small echoing voice calling out to me. They weren't saying my name, but somehow I knew the voice was directed at me. I think it was Peach. I went to answer her, to tell her I was okay, but my vocal cords felt dry.

From the edges of my vision I could see someone running towards me. He was kind of short, and as far as I could tell, rather handsome. He had a faint accent that I couldn't identify through my cottoned ears. I could feel my breath getting heavier and louder over the sound of the party noises.

And then…

I sat up a little too quickly and all the blood rushed to my head. I felt a wave of nausea but before I could lay back down a pair of hands were settling onto my shoulders, "Woah. Easy, easy. Are you alright? You suddenly fainted."

"It was my dashing good looks I'll bet."

Someone huffed as my eyes came into focus, "That's not funny Reyn."

The other voice chuckled, "I know, but someone's got to make light of this situation I suppose. Anyway you knew that was going to happen, didn't you? That's why you rushed over to her so quickly."

When the room around me finally focused I looked up to see a very concerned looking Shulk. His eyes were even bluer up close and holy shit _somebody_ in this room smelled really good and I was sure to hell it wasn't me.

And then I said probably the most cliché thing of all while blinking rapidly, "What happened?"

Shulk readjusted in his seat and took his hands off of my shoulders, "You passed out at the party."

I blinked, completely complacent with the fact that I was talking to the hero of Xenoblade Chronicles. I supposed the shock would hit later like bad sushi, "How long was I out?"

"An hour or so."

I shifted my gaze to look up at the real Reyn and all I can say about him is that his hair was super orange, almost to a cartoonish degree. He was also really buff and strong looking but his face made him look too old for his actual age, at least that's what I thought. Still though, he had that unnatural anime-ish boy glow. God damn-it Japan why do you have to make all of your men so attractive?

"You can stay here if you like. Or if you're feeling up to it, the party is still going on, it probably will be for a while."

"What time is it?"

"Ten thirty-two."

I don't know why I was expecting either of them to say it was Reyn or Shulk time. I shook my head to clear some of the fuzzies away. All I got in return was a mild headache. I wanted to take something for it but then I remembered all of my medication was in my bathroom. It was all in my house.

It really did hurt. I really was somewhere else.

And so it started to sink in.

"I'm sorry…"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry could I just… have a moment?" Reyn and Shulk shared a concerned look but allowed me my time alone. I tried to smile to reassure them, "You can go ahead back to the party if you'd like. I'm going to be a little bit, but I might join later. Thanks for your help."

Reyn tilted his head just like everyone else before him, "Are you sure you're alright?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I just need a breather."

Shulk crossed his arms and for just a moment in the dark of the room I saw the glint of the Monado resting on his back. I tried to ignore it and focus on his words, "Well… We'll be close if you need us alright? Rest easy."

I thanked him again and waited until they closed the door.

I didn't know where I was or even who I was anymore. I had no clue as to how I had gotten here, and if this was as real it felt then… why? How? What is this _thing_ that I'm trapped in? How have I…

I didn't cry. No matter how much I wanted to, no matter how hard I tried, the tears wouldn't come. Not yet anyway, I was still clinging to the off chance that this is all just a weird psychotic dream.

Someone knocked on my door. I cleared my throat and readjusted in the bed I was lying in, "Come in."

Peach walked in. Her smile was gone and of all people it was kind of weird to see Peach not smiling. She wasn't exactly frowning though. Her mouth was just set in a straight grim line, "Are you feeling alright?" her sugary voice didn't match her expression one bit.

I nodded, "I'm okay now. It must have been something in the air."

Peach came closer and sat on the bed. She wrung her gloved hands together and readjusted the crown on her head. Her smile was suddenly back and she looked up at me with sparkling eyes, "That's good. You know, I never did catch your name."

I found a small laugh escaping my mouth before I could stop it. Peach was so cute, "Oh sorry. My name is" – But I couldn't say it.

A wave of horror washed over me as I couldn't even remember what my own name was. I tried to concentrate, I tried to think of my mom when she was angry and would spout out my entire name. I tried to recall the memories of my roommate drunkenly calling me and shouting out my name like an opera singer. The faint thoughts drifted in and out but only popped like bubbles when they got too close. It wouldn't, or couldn't, come to me. The harder I thought the further the thoughts fell away. I had really forgotten my name.

So I thought of the next best thing, "You can just call me Mii fighter. I don't really have a name."

Peach's expression turned sad for a moment, "Oh. You're nameless? That happens too I guess." She smiled again, "I'm Peach. Nice to meet you."

I had forgotten she hadn't introduced herself yet and it would've been weird if I just called her by her name without any context. I bit my lip and decided I should probably get out of this room and join the party again. Even if this was a dream I think it'd be cool to meet everyone and see what my mind had made everyone up to be, "I really am feeling better. How about we head back?"

She looked a little surprised, "Are you sure?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I'd like to meet everyone."

Peach stood and waited for me to stand and smooth the wrinkles out of my tunic. She held the door open for me and I saw that we were up on the first floor of bedrooms. As we started down the stairs she started talking again, "I know you're not a Mii fighter…"

I wasn't sure if I felt panicked or relieved, but I trusted Peach and it wasn't just because she was programmed to be sweet and smart and honest. Still though I gulped my nerves down, "O-oh?"

"The Mii fighters don't live with us. This is their console so when they aren't fighting they live back in their own world. In the Mii plaza or wherever. I guess that doesn't mean you can't be one, after all Mii's could live here if they wanted to, but normally they just choose not to."

I felt my hands trembling, "What makes you say that?"

"Well for one, Mii's don't change clothes. At least, not into one of our outfits."

My lip quivered and I was wondering if she actually was angry. After all, I had gotten her nice dress all wet with my hair. Maybe she was scared of a new challenger as she had first called me? But wait, why would she be scared? I sighed and decided to trust her, or perhaps my own subconscious, "What should I do then?

The click of heals stopped and I turned around to see that Peach had stopped walking. She was still smiling as she came up to me and laid a gentle hand on my shoulder, "You can still be a Mii. You're too different to be anything else."

It felt good knowing that she was on my side. Without another word we walked back into the party and this time I didn't feel quite as overwhelmed.

Ike came up to us and held out a drink, "Hello again. I'm guessing you're feeling alright now? Here have a drink," Peach was quickly swept away by Mario and Luigi to dance and she sent an apologetic look over her shoulder at me. I waved, telling her I'd be alright for a bit.

I took the plastic cup, my throat was dry all of the sudden. The drink was just water, but it felt refreshing. I leaned against a wall as I drank and Ike rested next to me, "So what have I missed?" I said cheerfully.

Ike shrugged, "Nothing much. We don't always get to have fun like this, only when the game is off. Say, I never did get your name. You're a gunner you said right? It's odd that a Mii would be here."

I shrugged and tried to act nonchalant, "Yeah. I was created nameless so you can just call me whatever suits you I suppose. I also… um… wanted to meet the people I'd be working with."

He suddenly burst out laughing and I felt flustered, "Yeah I guess you call what we do work. It's not really though it's… much worse."

Before I could question what he meant a British voice called out to me, "Are you feeling alright now?"

Ike was suddenly gone in a flash and Shulk and Reyn took up the spaces next to me. Shulk's eyes were bright and that really good smell from before came back. I actually think it might have been coming from Reyn because the closer he got the stronger the scent was.

"I'm okay. Thanks again. I just wasn't feeling all that great. I'm good now though, thanks."

Shulk smiled, "I'm glad you're alright. By the way I'm Shulk. And my friend here is Reyn."

"The one and only baby," I looked over to Reyn to see him leaning against the wall with one arm. I also realized that he was _tall_. He practically towered over me, I was also a bit on the short side, but that wasn't the point.

Shulk was taller than me too but only by a few inches so it wasn't as awkward to look at him and talk to him. I didn't like talking to tall people because I had to look up at them and it made me uncomfortable. Reyn didn't seem to mind though as he just sat there and enjoyed the conversation between Shulk and I.

"So when were you created?" I blinked, not realizing that someone was talking to me.

"What?"

Shulk laughed, "I mean, you're a Mii right? When were you created? I don't recall seeing you around," I blinked a couple of times. Peach was right, it really was weird for Mii's to hang out with Smashers.

"Uh earlier today. I was just made and dropped in here. I um actually did hear that there was a party going on from the other Mii's and I thought I'd pop by. I was just so surprised when I saw all the people."

Shulk put his head against the wall and breathed out slowly. He took a sip of his drink and nodded, "There's about four hundred or so of us here. Maybe more, our Gamer hasn't unlocked all of the trophies yet so we're still missing quite a few people."

I felt my eyebrows crease, "Gamer?"

"Yeah. The one who plays us. The one who runs our specific game. The one who made you. I'm guessing you're her Mii? You look just like her."

A nervous shiver ran down my spine, "I guess…"

Shulk shifted on his feet, "Well… didn't you see her? We can always see her when she plays. And if only she knew…"

Reyn nudged Shulk gently and he immediately shut up. I was confused but I didn't say anything. Shulk became cheery again and smiled, "Never mind. No use in dreaming I suppose. And sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

"Hey, Monado boy!" the three of us turned to see Metal face stomping towards us. I began to panic but Shulk didn't seem to care.

He just put his hand in his pocket and started talking to him as if they weren't enemies, "What's up?"

"Who's your friend?"

I felt my mouth drop open a little bit, "Wait… I thought you two were…"

Metal face gave me a strange look, "What?"

"I thought you two were enemies."

Shulk smiled, "Ah you know my story. Well technically yes, but ever since we were thrown into this game we have no choice but to get along. It doesn't matter if we fight anyway, we can't die, but the pain is real and quite unpleasant."

Metal face laughed and rolled his shoulders, "Fighting when the game is off is a bad idea. Like he said we can't die, but the wounds created are sustained and heal naturally when the game is off. In other words it's best to just get along rather than fight."  
It felt weird hearing two mortal enemies conversing as if it were no shit. The three started to talk about something Xenoblade related and I felt like slipping away but someone else did it for me.

A hand on my elbow pulled me quickly but gently to the side, somewhat far away from Shulk and Reyn.

When I looked towards my captor I noticed it was female Robin. She was brushing her fingers through her ponytails and smiling at me, "Hello. I heard there was a new Mii around. I just wanted to introduce myself," she huffed, "and to believe Shulk was keeping such a cutie to himself."

I blushed. Somehow fem Robin reminded me of those anime girls who always makes sexual jokes and is just an all-around no shit's to give character. I liked her already.

"Is this her?" Male Robin walked up. My mouth opened slightly, "You're both…?"

Both Robin's laughed, "We couldn't believe it either. To think that we could be male or female. It was… interesting."

Lucina passed by us to get something to drink and female Robin smiled, "We know how our games end now. Being here in this world. Weather we finished our quest or not. And first of all I can't believe we're the same person, but what I really can't grasp is that I have a child and she came here with us!"

She glared angrily yet playfully at her male counterpart who held his hands up in defense, "How was I supposed to know? If anything it's Chrom's fault."

Robin huffed and folded her arms. Then suddenly she winked at me, "Well have fun you too. I need to go catch up to my future daughter. Lucy wait up!"

Male Robin laughed as she danced away. Then he awkwardly scratched his head. He grabbed a water bottle off the table and offered it to me. My drink was empty so I accepted it graciously.

"So a new Mii huh? What was it again?"

"I'm a gunner."

"Oh, I meant what's your name?"

I shrugged and decided that I kind of liked being nameless for the time being, "I was left unnamed. Just gunner really. Well I guess I wasn't unnamed," I remembered that when you create a character the first thing you did was name them, "But um… Test gunner is pretty lame I guess."

Robin nodded, "I see. In that case I agree." He smiled devilishly, "What should I call you then?" His anime charm broke through my defenses and I felt a little bit flattered to be talking to him for some reason.

I waved my hand in dismissal, "Anything that you think works is fine."

Robin put his drink down, put one hand on his hip, and put the other on his chin in thought. He looked me up and down and I felt a little uncomfortable being scrutinized so thoroughly. After a few moments he snapped his fingers, "You know, you look just like our Gamer. I couldn't place you at first but that must be it, she created herself. Ah, too bad none of know her actual name though."

I awkwardly wrung my hands together. I tried to laugh off the uncomfortable feeling but I only ended up feeling worse about this situation.

Robin suddenly patted me on my back. He was rougher then he probably meant to be and I almost dropped my water. Instead I tripped over my feet a little and gave him a look. Robin laughed and apologized, "Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"For what?"

"I can tell that made you uncomfortable, also for almost making you trip. It's okay. Talking about our Gamer kind of feels like dissing a God."

I smiled, "Its fine. Hey so" –

"So sorry I'm late to the party!" everyone gasped at the sudden disembodied voice. It seemed to come from all around and from all directions. I was confused as the crowd fell dead silent, and then I saw it.

Up near the ceiling, in a concentrated center, black spots began to appear and swirl to form a body. Robin, perhaps out of fear or protective instinct, reached and gripped my wrist and pulled me closer to him. He pursed his lips and whispered, "Master Core."

Two massive hands appeared beside him before shrinking and fitting to become his gloves. He landed on the ground and everyone around him opened up to give him a wide girth, "I'm looking for one special little character here tonight. Ah there she is," one of his hands shot out without warning and grabbed my own, pulling me startlingly fast towards him. I heard a couple shouts of worry, but before I could answer them I had crashed into him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Be honest, does my title suck? Haha, I'm bad at making titles. Literally, in my flash drive this story is just "SSB4." So yeah...**

* * *

 **2**

My body felt like it was burning.

I was still in "Master Core's" grip for what seemed to be a moment too long, but he finally let me go and I landed ass first on a quiet final destination stage. Well, quieter as opposed to what it's like when playing it.

Master Core transformed for just a second into what I guess was his true form, which was a little ball of whatever, before changing into his human shape again. Master hand and Crazy hand were at his sides, literally being his actual hands which I somehow found extremely strange.

I also found it weird that he could talk, but I didn't bother giving that detail much thought. Master Core laughed darkly and took a few steps closer to me. He did an "Evil villain" type pose with his hands face up and legs spread slightly apart as he threw back his head and laughed maniacally.

"How I've longed for this day. For you, the Gamer, to be in my hands," His voice was rough and had the faintest of accents, yet I couldn't quite place it. I wasn't sure if it was British or Scottish. He sounded like a pissed off Fox (from melee) mixed with a tired Metal Face and maybe a dash of an over partied Lucario? I'm not even sure if that even made sense.

I rubbed my head, feeling a headache coming, "What are you talking about?"

In a second he closed the space between us. He gripped my chin with his hand and forced me to look up at him. All I could see was a vague outline of a face and a pair of black eyes that were created by the swarm of dots around him.

"You. I've had my eye on you for some time and I almost can't believe I managed to _steal_ you from your world. And yet you're here, standing before me," his let out a short low laugh, "oh the fun we'll have."

He let go of me and I started to stand but with a flick of his wrist I fell back down again, "What is it you want? What are you talking about, what you've been spying on me or something?"

"Oh no my dear. You've just intrigued me is all, I have all the power in the world but only in this measly little game. So I started to think, "If I could just extend my power maybe I could latch on to something else and drag it back here." And it worked! It worked marvelously well."

I wasn't sure if what I was hearing was true or not, but I was beginning to feel the uncomfortable thoughts that I might actually be stuck here and that this world is real.

I tried to stand but my body felt bound to the floor. My arms went limp, uselessly dangling at my side. I grit my teeth and forced out my next words through blurry eyes, "You're not real."

Master Core laughed and lifted me up with one hand, holding me by my waist and putting his swarming face uncomfortably close to mine, "No. I'm not. Not yet anyway. Until then however, I'll let you enjoy yourself. Oh, and might I thank you for coming up with that little ruse? A Mii fighter, ha! Much better than what I had planned. We'll talk again soon," He twirled me around and pushed me hard enough to where I fell down once more.

His body began to drift off. Little chunks falling away and zipping towards me. I tried to shoo them away but more came, and more, and more. I swatted at them like flies but they persisted. Eventually there were so many that all I could see was a thick blackness.

Then just like that they were gone. I blinked as my vision cleared and I saw that I was back in the mansion again. I was surrounded by a circle of smashers who were looking down at me with extremely confused expressions.

Shulk ran over, concern written on his face. Robin kneeled down next to me and laid a hand on my shoulder, "Are you alright?"

I nodded shakily, "I'm okay. Uh what was that just now?"

Shulk threw an angry punch at the ground, "I should've been faster! I could've stopped him. He suddenly rushed you and whatever he did you were lying here for about ten minutes, completely immobile. He had taken over your body, trapped you. We thought you were done for."  
My body felt heavy and I let Robin help me up, "It might be best if you go home and lie down. I'll take you back to the Mii door, but from there you're on your own okay?"

I nodded and everyone awkwardly watched me leave. Robin led me to a door at the back of the kitchen. He opened it for me and it was a long white hallway that lead to another door. I started through the entryway but I ended up running into an invisible wall. My nose cracked and my head turned sharply, "Ow."

Robin grabbed my shoulders and pulled me close him, "Woah… Are you okay?"

I shook my head, "What the - ? Yeah I'm fine but that was weird…"

"It was… try again, uh but just reach out slowly."

I did what he told me and I could spread my hand out as if were on a flat table. I tapped my fingers against it a couple of times but I couldn't go past the barrier, "Is this supposed to happen?"

I looked up at Robin and his eyes widened, "Usually we're the only ones who can't leave when the game is off. _He_ keeps us in here," He looked at me and slowly removed his hands from my shoulders, "He's either keeping you here for a reason, or you're not a Mii fighter."

I bit my lip. What was I supposed to tell him? "Uh…"

Robin frowned worriedly, "Don't worry. I believe you are who you say you are because well, what game would you come from? We know them all, you're nothing Nintendo made. My only question is why would he keep you in here?"

 _If I really am_ here, _I'd have to ask the same question. Shit… what's going on?_

"I'll take you to one of the empty rooms and you can rest there for the night," I turned around and Peach was giving me a concerned look. She was so quiet, I don't even know where she had come from.

Still though I didn't argue, "Okay."

"You sure Peach?" Robin crossed and uncrossed his arms.

"Mm-hmm," Peach motioned for me to follow and I did without question. We started up the staircase and stopped on the second floor, "This room is empty. We decided to make it a guest room. There's a whole ninth floor that's empty as well but I don't think you want to sleep completely by yourself. The only reason this room is empty is because Bowser doesn't sleep much. If he does it's brief."

I raised an eyebrow, "Won't he mind?"

Peach shook her head and smiled, "No. He's downstairs most of the time. He even moved all of his prearranged outfits elsewhere too," She opened the door and I walked in slowly. It was, as I've noticed, like all the others. A single queen bed, a dresser with a lamp on it, a chest of drawers and a body length vanity mirror in the corner next to a closet. The closet in this room was open and bare and the window was shut tight.

The door clicked close as Peach left and I went over to pull back the curtains. Outside I saw nothing but absolute darkness. It was almost astonishing to look at an endless black sea. I turned on a light and from my room it only extended about a foot into the world outside. I turned the light back off, somehow feeling more comforted in the darkness than the minimal light.

Someone knocked on my door. I went to open it thinking it was Peach but instead I saw Robin standing there. He rubbed the back of his head, "I should probably be letting you sleep but uh, I just wanted to make sure you really were alright."

I smiled and reached out to ruffle his white hair, "I'm okay. Thanks, really."

He stood there with a conflicted look on his face before finally blurting out the words, "So what happened?"

I leaned against the oak frame and crossed my arms, "What do you mean?"

"What did Master Core do to you? If anything. He's never done that to any of us before. Well, he took over Charizard once because he was trying to fight him, but that's beside the point. He's never done a full frontal attack like that. We – well at least I – thought he was going to kill you or something."

I frowned, "Die? But during the party Shulk told me that players can't die."

Robin sighed, "We can't kill each other when the game is off but Master Core can do whatever he wants. He can rewrite codes, delete them, turn the game on and control us if he feels like it. That's why he's the "Master" Core, he controls _everything._ I mean, not that he would he has a game to run after all, but if he really wanted to he could destroy and corrupt this entire game."

Shivers traveled down my spine, was this really happening right now? I bit my lip and tried to smile, "Well. Thanks. I appreciate that you came to check up on me."

Even in the dark of the room I could see Robin's bright blush. He wrung his hands together and stammered, "O-oh. No problem. I just uh… you know I should probably let you rest. It's been a long day… Uh, night."

Robin started to back up out of the room, first bumping into the doorframe and sheepishly making a break for it out of embarrassment. I went over and closed the door. I went back over to the window and stared out into the emptiness. The only thing I could compare it to was space except not nearly as beautiful. It was a cold starless night.

As I looked out a blindingly bright white light appeared without warning. I put my hand out to shield my eyes but it did little to help. I heard voices in the distance before a blue light engulfed me and lined me up with the other smashers. My two other Mii Fighters were stationed on my left and were eying me curiously.

We were all in a horizontal line, facing two people on a couch. I squinted me eyes and a female face came into view, I gasped when I recognized her, "Carmen?"

"What?" To my right Sonic gave me a look, "You know them?"

Quickly I shook my head, "No. I've heard our Gamer call her that."

"Oh hey, it looks like she made another fighter. A gunner? Lame. Guess I'll try her though," A gold ring surrounded me and I was lifted slightly into the air. The announcer shouted out my name and I felt uncomfortably weightless.

However from this slight height advantage I tried to see who else was on the couch. I couldn't quite tell who the guy was, but I think it was her boyfriend, after all what other guy would she bring to our apartment?

"Fair enough. But you know what? I'm really feeling Shulk."

Carmen smacked him on the arm and giggled. As I got a better look I recognized his face. God, I haven't seen Jack in a long time. His hair was longer. The couple had had a nuclear fallout two years ago and she refused to talk to him. Recently they've gotten back together but she hadn't brought him around much. Also, why the fuck was she home?

"Oh let me change the match. One on one or team?"

"Hey," I whispered to Sonic, "What day is it?"

"Saturday," Sonic gave me a thumbs up and I blinked and thanked him. Carmen must have come back early. That either means she didn't actually go to her parents, or she fought with her mom again. Fortunately I was her best friend and understood where she was coming from, I've met her mom and she was the type of person who you couldn't even said hello to properly.

Their voices from the couch drew me back into reality, "Let's do Guar Plain."

Jack agreed, "Omega?" he asked.

"Nah I like Metal Face," the sound when you chose a stage dinged and I was dropped onto the grassy hills of Guar Plain. On the other side I could see Shulk as he appeared from thin air at the same time.

Before I could ask what was happening my body sprang into action. A gun I didn't even know I had begun shooting large plasma beams at Shulk who dodged and rolled back. I was being controlled. I was _actually_ being controlled. I tried to resist, I tried to fight it, but my feet kept moving towards Shulk and my gun kept firing.

"Back Slash!" Shulk dodged my shot and rolled behind me. He sliced at my exposed position and I felt the most horrible, agonizing pain on this earth. It felt like I was being sliced in two, ripped apart and yet still somehow physically okay. The pain was shocking, jolting, and for a moment I thought I was done for.

"Hey what the fuck? Shulk doesn't have stun does he – oh never mind we're good."

My body began to move again. Shulk countered my next shot and slashed me in the face. The pain came again and I wanted to cry. Shulk looked at me as he jumped over my head and I could see the worry in his eye.

From the corner of my eye I could see a smash ball floating slowly down. My body lunged for it and I managed to snatch it out of the air. I absorbed it but before I could use it Shulk grabbed me and threw me onto the ground. The ball was knocked from my grasp and he slashed at it with his sword.

"Riki, Dunban, let's go everyone!"

Stab. Slash. Cut. Pierce. Pain. How was I still moving? How was I even alive? There's no way this was real, and yet it all feels so…

I could hear the wind whistle by my ears as I plummeted down and off the screen. The world went dark for a moment before all the pain disappeared and I respawned in the blink of an eye.

"God her moves are kind of weird." I heard Carmen say.

Jack smiled and rolled his eyes, "Sure. You're just upset that I'm beating you."

Carmen frowned, "No I'm not. Okay a little bit, but that's not what I mean. Look just play her after this match. It's really weird she's like _super_ slow. She feels slower than like King Dedede or something."

Shulk knocked me out of the ring two more times. Both were filled with uncomfortable and excruciating pain, and I was relieved when I heard the announcer say, "Game!"

I felt dizzy and sick as we were taken back to the character selection chart. There was nothing wrong with my body but I felt so numb. We couldn't move, but I could hear Shulk yelling from wherever he was. He wasn't that far, and there were two rows. He sounded somewhere behind me, "Are you alright? That was… that was your first fight wasn't it? Ugh, I should have warned you. I should have told you. It's my fault. The pain is to be expected but you're a new character, you had no prior knowledge. Ah! I'm an idiot."

"Mii fighter," I was selected again. Dear god. No, please.

"Little Mac. Lucina. Sonic. Sonic. Sonic. Sonic. S-So-So-Son-S-Sonic."

Carmen laughed and so did Jack. Through the haze I managed to crack a small smile because I did that all the time too. Jack smiled, "You done?"

"Sonic."

"Ok," they selected a stage. Sonic gave me a thumbs up the second before we spawned and then my feet landed with a clank on the Pyrosphere stage. I dodged his first attack and then grabbed him and threw him above me and shot him with my gun.

"Oh I see what you mean. Yeah she's a little difficult I guess. Ooh, did you see that? Killer spike though."

A smash ball appeared and I hopped over Sonic and grabbed it. The multicolored glow surrounded me and I used it before Sonic could take it away. Two other sphere shaped objects appeared and in sync we turned towards the stage and shot at it with a massive laser beam that filled up the entire screen.

The rest of the game went in a blur. In the end Sonic won and the two dubbed me as a "Shit character."

"Hey we could totally make her better," the screen went grey and then suddenly I was alone. I was in a white room with boxes covering most of the screen. I was facing the two on the couch and they proceeded to try and change me.

"What? Non-editable character? What is this bull?"

"Must be a setting or something. Here let's just delete her and make a new one," I panicked. Deleting me would mean killing me right? But then I heard the repeated sound of a click as he kept pressing the delete key, "Won't even delete either. Guess we're stuck with her. Anyway you need to get better at Lucina. You say you like her and you're not half bad, but you need practice."

His voice was playful as they switched back to the smash screen. Carmen giggled and set down the controller, "I need to practice some other things too you know."

I held back an uncomfortable groan as they began to make out on my couch. I looked down the row and the smashers were all blushing and looking away. I looked back just in time to see someone's shirt come off and the only thing I could think of was _ah shit my couch._

"Let's turn it off. I don't want the music distracting us," the power went off and everyone breathed a sigh of relief as we were teleported back to the mansion. We were all in the foyer and awkwardly avoiding each other's gaze. A hand patted me on my shoulder and I turned to see Robin.

"Uh, hey."

I bit my lip, "Does that happen a lot?" I blurted out. Robin blushed harder and I noticed that all the pain from the matches was gone, but with just Robin's hand on my shoulder I could feel a ghost of invisible scars.

"Mm, sometimes. Our Gamer has done that a couple of times but usually they leave the couch. She hasn't done it in a while though."

I opened my mouth and then blushed. _The Gamer._ That was me. Or was. Or is? Fuck if I know anymore. Shulk came running over but before I could say anything he tackled me with a hug. I didn't know what to do or say, but I knew what to think. _He smells nice_.

"Holy… Shulk are you alright?"

He pulled away from me, "I should be asking you the same thing. I'm so sorry, I should've warned you. I could see it in your eyes, the sudden pain. This… is what we have to go through. This is what I wish our Gamer would know but… uh, I didn't mean to startle you. I didn't think we'd be played again so soon."

I set my hands on his chest in a comforting manor, "It's alright."

A quiet cough caught our attention. I looked over at Robin and broke from Shulk's arms. I smiled up at him as he blushed, "What's up?"

Before Robin could answer someone grabbed my hand and pulled me away. I looked at my captor as we found a corner and Peach reached out and grabbed my face in her gloved hands. She blinked several times before deeming me okay and pulling me down into a squat.

"Peach?"

"I think I understand now."

I frowned and cracked my knuckle unintentionally, "What is it?"

Peach leaned in close and whispered, "You're our Gamer. Aren't you?"

I gulped, suddenly feeling worried. I didn't know what to say, I didn't even know if that was true anymore. Was I their Gamer? Or was I part of the game now? Slowly I shook my head, "That can't be right. I'm… different. But I'm no Gamer."

Her eyes widened, "I can feel it. I know you are. Even if you say you're not."

My eyebrows went up in concern, "How did you come to that conclusion?"

Peach smiled, "It was part intuition and part observation. Mii's have a specific quirk about them, a quirk you don't have. You're not from any game, that much is clear to everyone, and Friday our Gamer left us on. She was going to play us, but then the game suddenly turned off. We assumed it was a power outage, but she never turned us back on. We figured she would, but it never happened. Until now."

I bit my lip and nervously asked, "What kind of quirk do the Mii's have?"

Peach smiled, "They don't speak. Without a voice, they can't talk. And you sound just like her."

I felt the blood drain from my brain. They don't speak? Shit of course that makes sense, they don't have voice actors so why would they have voices? Does that mean everyone knows I'm a fraud? Or maybe this is a joke. Or maybe I'm still dreaming.

Frowning, I pulled my legs in and curled into a small awkward ball, "Doesn't that mean..?"

Peach shook her head, "No. No one else knows."

I raised an eyebrow, "Then how…?"

Peach blinked and stood, pulling me up with her, "I've talked to Mii's before. I invited one here for a party," she smiled softly, "he was nice. We talked and talked, well I talked, and halfway through the night I asked him if he was shy or nervous. He pulled out a piece of paper and wrote _I have no voice_ on it. No one else has spoken to a Mii. Part of it is because they are quite shy, but they also can't talk. They feel… um embarrassed I guess is the right word."

I pursed my lips and started walking with her as she headed back towards a confused Robin and Shulk. Before I could fully comprehend that she had just figured out who I really was, she hugged me tightly.

When she pulled away I could have sworn I saw tears in her eyes, "Are you okay?" I asked.

She nodded, "It's just… so exciting. You _resisted_ the controller. We all saw it, just for a second. We're programmed to work with it when the game is on. Some of us have tried to resist but those efforts are fruitless. You though, the coding isn't written in your blood. If you really tried you, and only you, could breakaway."

"Peach? Was that you who dragged her away so suddenly?"

Peach turned her head sharply and the action looked uncomfortably terrifying coming from her. She smiled and turned the rest of her body to face the two boys, "Oh, yes! Sorry boys, we had to talk girl stuff," With a wink and a twirl she spun away and I was left alone with the two.

Nervousness began to hit, if Peach had figured it out so easily then what about the others? Surely everyone had their own level of intelligence and could figure it out no problem. I glanced back and forth between Robin and Shulk who were talking to me but their words weren't quite reaching my ears. I nodded and the two shared a concerned look.

"Mii?" they asked in unison.

My eyes finally focused and I looked at Shulk, "…Yes?"

They both smiled and Robin suddenly blurted out, "I was just wondering if you'd like to sit by me and the rest of Fire Emblem when we eat dinner."

Shulk stepped in from of him, "But you're always welcome to hang out with us as well."

I smiled, somehow they were both just too cute right now. I opened my mouth to answer that I was probably going to sit with Peach but a voice from behind startled me, "Actually boys, she already agreed to sit next to me."

Shulk and Robin frowned and took a small, almost fearful, step back. Confused I turned around. My mouth fell partially open as I stared at Master Core standing there looking as smug as ever. The black swarm that made up his body was formed to look very similar to Shulk. The only difference was that the hair was much shorter and he was taller, but from what I could tell the same physique and face shape.

"That can't be right…"

"Come along sweetheart," Master Core's voice was hard and full of sarcasm. He took hold of my wrist with an iron grip and pulled me away. He took me into a large dining hall where some of the other smashers were idly enjoying food at their own pace. When the door was fully opened everyone turned and stared as we entered the room. Well Master Core entered, I was more or less dragged.

He pulled me uncomfortably close to him and pretty much pushed me to a table. The room was almost completely silent, the only sound was my awkward struggle to keep moving. Master Core sat me down and patted my cheek roughly.

He leaned in close and I saw his mouth twitch up into a smirk, "Today I'm going to show everyone that you're mine. Deal?"

Master Core walked away to get a plate, leaving me alone and feeling stared at. Someone touched my shoulder and behind me was Reyn sitting by himself at a round table, "What's going on?" he and several others whispered.

I shook my head, "I have no clue, but I'm scared."

Reyn pursed his lips, "I'm scared for you. Do you know what he wants with you?"

I shook my head again, "You think he's going to hurt me?"

Cracking his neck and fingers Reyn punched his open palm with his fist, "He better not. Master Core or not I'll kill him if he thinks he can delete one of us just like that."

He looked determined and I smiled. The look on his face, however, melted away when a menacing presence filled the room. Master Core grabbed my face harshly and forced me to look his way, "Ignore the players," he sounded on edge and annoyed. I fidgeted in my seat as the room fell quiet again

When he slammed the utensils onto the table I jumped at the force. I didn't get it, was he always like this? Or was he jealous or something? The little shit just met me.

His scowl quickly turned into an oddly delightful smile as he took the fork and knife and cut off a piece of the meat on his plate. I started to wonder where my plate was and I figured I'd have to go get it when the aforementioned piece of cut meat was in my face.

"Open your mouth."

I blinked, "What –? Ah!" he shoved the fork into my mouth and I chewed to avoid choking. Upon taste I could only assume that this was steak.

"Dude," I growled out.

He smirked and reached over to pinch my cheek, "Feeling embarrassed yet?"

I frowned, but then my stomach grumbled. Fine, if he was going to play this game then I can play it right back, I have no shame. I crossed my arms, leaned back, and opened my mouth, "Actually I'm more hungry than embarrassed. That was pretty good if you want to keep feeding me."

Master Core let out a low grumble and took a bite for himself, "You've got working limbs. Why don't get your own plate?"

I felt my eyebrows knit together and a hundred insults flooded my head. Every fiber of my being was telling me to keep my mouth shut but my brain is a completely separate organ from my body sometimes. I stood slowly so I could get better leverage and glared him in the eye, "You've got a working brain. Why don't you use it?"

In my head the insult sounded way better. When it came out I wasn't sure if I sounded as dumb as I thought or if that was an actually good comeback.

Either way I was pretty sure I was in trouble when the room started shaking.

Master Core stood so rapidly that the seat behind him flew back. A dark laugh filled the room and anyone still present booked it without a second thought. Master Core laughed harder and took a step towards me.

I instantly regretted all of my choices that led me to this moment and fell back into my seat. Across the room a voice yelled out, "Master Core!" I turned and saw Shulk trying to make his way towards me. Before he got too close Master Core swished his hand in the air and sent him flying out and slamming the doors.

"So entertaining. I knew you were the right choice," He cracked his knuckles and took another step closer. From the fiery look in his empty eyes I couldn't tell if he was about to kill me, torture me, or fuck me. Either way I was scared of any of the outcomes.

Reaching a hand out the tip of his gloved finger grazed my cheek when a blue halo of light surrounded me. He disappeared in a white light and I was lined up with all the other smashers in perfectly horizontal rows. I blinked as Carmen's face came into view.

The game was on.


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

I blinked rapidly to clear the tears from my eyes.

An hour ago I was saved from whatever fate Master Core had for me, but now I was forced to fight against everyone.

"You know, actually I kind of like her. She's not that bad to use," this time around I was allowing the controller to do its job and, well, control me. I could feel myself wanting to break away from the weirdness of doing actions not my own, but I could also feel my body connecting with the buttons on the controller. Like strings on a puppet.

"Yeah you've gotten really good at her. She's probably really easy to use once you get a hang of her, she is a custom."

Carmen shrugged and I held back a whine as Little Mac punched me in the face. I heard a bell ring and Jack laughed, "Oh I'm going to get you now. K.O!"

Little Mac frowned as he got closer to me, he began winding up his punch and just before his boxing glove hit me square in the jaw he whispered out a soft, "Sorry," and I was sent flying out of the ring.

It felt like I had two black eyes and now a broken jaw. I respawned and immediately knocked him off the edge and spiked him down. Since he has shit fall recovery that was his last life as the announcer called game.

The next round Carmen didn't play me and I was grateful for the rest. The two played three more rounds before getting "distracted" again and turning off the game. I was relieved for the break, but I had no idea where Master Core was or what he was planning.

When we were returned to the mansion everything was as it had been left. I was in an empty dining room with Master Core, except he was sitting down and the room wasn't shaking. I backed away from him but without warning his body split apart and reformed behind me.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and forced me to be still. He chuckled into my ear and I squirmed as he breathed hot air on my neck. I didn't even know he breathed.

I bit my lip, "Fine you've got me. What do you want?" I couldn't tell if my voice was shaking or if my ears were hard of hearing.

"Admitting defeat so easily? My dear I haven't even begun to break you," he pushed me forward and let me drop to the floor, "I suppose there's nothing to it. You kept me waiting and my plans have fizzled for now. Enjoy it while you can."

The doors opened when he disappeared. The smashers eyed the door curiously before stepping into the dining room and making their way over to where I was sitting. Robin was the first to get to me, "You sure make things interesting around here."

I laughed sheepishly, he had no idea how terrified I actually was. What would happen if they found out? Or figured something was amiss like Peach had? Would I be shunned or something? Would they still accept me?

"Master Core doesn't normally bother us," Robin continued, "But I'm just glad you're alright."

He held out a hand and helped me up. I wiped the dust off my pants and then since it was now stuck to my palms, I wiped it back off. I sighed, "Thanks," I felt winded after dealing with Master Ass and I would've liked to lie down.

Robin scratched the back of my head, "Well… it looks like he's gone now. This might not be the right time to ask, but are you still hungry?"

I went to shake my head but I was, in fact, starving. The hunger had gone while the game was on but now it was slowly gnawing away at my stomach. I sighed in defeat, "Yeah. I don't want to be, but I am."

His face brightened and he wove his hands together hopefully, "Let's eat together then, is um, that okay?"

I pinched his cheek gently and stood up straight, "Sure," Robin blushed and ran a hand through his silver hair. We grabbed a couple of plates and sat down. Without thinking I started shoveling food into my mouth. I looked down at my plate, then over at Robin who I realized was staring at me. I blushed, my plate had been piled high and I felt embarrassed that it was already gone and I wanted more.

To be honest I wasn't sure if I was really hungry or not. Maybe I was just too stressed from my fights. Either way I felt my stomach rumble as I pushed back my plate. I looked up and Robin was still staring at me. He didn't look disgusted or anything as I had assumed, he just had this big-eyed, dopey look on his face that made him look like he was about to fall asleep.

I raised an eyebrow, "Are you alright?"

He blinked and his eyes refocused, "Oh, yeah I'm fine. What about you? How are you holding up? We all watched you fight Mac, his punches can be… rough."

The thought sent a shiver down my spine. I could still feel the ghosting sting of his gloves, "I'm okay. It was a shock that's for sure."

"That's a relief," I turned towards the faint Brooklyn accent and saw Little Mac standing there with his gloves hanging from his neck. I don't know why, but for some reason I found it incredibly weird to see him looking normal like that. I was used to see his gloves, not his hands. They were just normal hands, but somehow it still made me feel weird.

I blinked a couple of times, I also didn't even know he could talk. Then again I didn't know a lot of people could talk, oh note to self, go talk to Link as soon as possible.

I turned my entire body towards him and sat sideways in the chair, "Oh its fine. I'm still just a newbie so I wasn't fully prepared."

Mac leaned against the table, "Hey I'll tell you what really hurts. When Villager drops a tree on you. Its sounds crazy but it's a lot bigger up close."

"Hey Mac baby we got work to do!" Doc Louis appeared from thin air and began dragging Mac away. He didn't look back so I went to talk to Robin again.

I opened my mouth to spout out something random when someone pulled back my chair, grabbed me by my neck, and violently, but not painfully, ruffled my hair. I couldn't see who was there but by the voice I knew who it was immediately, "There she is! How about that fight eh? Us trophies saw you on the big screen."

Reyn let me go and I flattened my hair, it was full of static now and sticking up at odd angles. Shulk stepped out from behind Reyn and placed a lock of my hair behind my ear. That really good smell seemed extra good and I tried not to start sniffing the air like a dog, "I'm alright if that's what you're asking."

I repositioned myself and out of the corner of my eye I saw that Robin had left. I felt bad and like I had made him leave, but Reyn's voice brought my attention back to him, "Good. That's all I needed to hear."

He smiled and slapped me on the back. It was probably harder than intended because I almost fell off the chair. The most awkward part was that he noticed, I could tell by his sly smile.

"Go easy on her Reyn," Shulk joked before sitting next to me.

Reyn laughed and moved away to grab a chair from the other side of the round table and moved it closer. I concluded that the cologne, or man-scent, or whatever was definitely coming from Reyn because when he was close it was a very prominent scent and when he went away it was gone. That also made me wonder what Shulk wears because he smelled just as nice.

I mentally coughed, that was all irrelevant to the situation.

When we were situated I couldn't help but blurt out, "So what cologne do you wear Reyn?"

He looked surprise, but smiled and leaned in, "What do you like it?"

I decided to just not give any fucks and be honest, "Yeah," Reyn suddenly burst out laughing and fell back into his chair. From behind I could hear Shulk let out a giggle or two. I began to feel self-conscious about my answer and my face turned red, "What's so funny?"

"Oh… nothing. You're just a funny girl."

I smiled, "Fair enough. But seriously I want to know because it smells amazing."

"It's actually Shulk's. He just never wears it."

I looked at Shulk pointedly, "You should. It's awesome."

Shulk rubbed his chin as if he were considering the most important question in the universe, "Well if you like it then I suppose it couldn't hurt."

I nudged him with my elbow and laughed. Shulk and Reyn joined in and I suddenly felt awkward. If _I_ liked it, what does that mean is he joking or is he being serious? Maybe I'm just overthinking things. I mean, I am a girl who overcomplicates things but well… no push that to the back of my thoughts. This is just some messed up joke of the mind I bet.

The three of us talked for a while longer when a fourth voice chimed in. I looked to my left and saw Dunban walking towards us with a wide smile, "There you two are."

His voice sounded a bit rougher in person, but by the gods was he an attractive human male. Holy shit in a bottle he was _handsome_. No hot, wait no handsome… god he was both, he was hotsome! Ugh, shut up brain.

Seriously though, Shulk and Reyn were pretty well done, but oh god Dunban? Damn man… never would I ever settle for American boys again. I only want 'em if they were born and raised on the Bionis.

He had his little cape and everything and ooh I just swooned. My mouth opened and closed as I was at a complete loss of words. Luckily a cheerful voice stopped me from saying something too weird or random.

Riki bounced, actually bounced, over and was clapping his little hands together. He was smiling wide and his pointed teeth were showing, "Heropon Riki wants to meet new smasher!"

My brain lost control of my body as I launched forward. He panicked as I grabbed him and began dramatically squeezing him. Dunban laughed and I just cuddled the little Nopon senseless. He seemed to realize that I wasn't actually trying to hurt him and he wrapped his long ears around me in a hug.

I squeezed him tighter.

"New hom hom friend excited too!"

"Dude you're adorable," I admitted.

I heard Dunban as he whispered to Shulk, "Does she say everything that's on her mind?'

I stuck my tongue out at him and realized I was on the floor. I let Riki go to stand up and I awkwardly dusted off my pants, "I can say what I want," I defended.

Dunban smiled and my knees jiggled a bit. I wasn't normally one to fall for looks, but damn he was just drawn _so well._ He crossed his arms, "I like your style."

He did a two finger wave before dismissing himself, and pulling the rest of Xenoblade with him. He said they had some things to discuss and I wasn't about to stop them. Besides, I would be the first to admit that I liked the back view. From everyone. Riki wiggled out of my arms and hopped after them. I cooed and swooned as they walked away and just made a mess of my dignity.

When they were gone I decided I should go find Robin and pay attention to him for a while. He's been nothing but nice to me and I've just sort of been ignoring him. I walked through the room and eventually found him in the back by himself. He was sitting at a table and drinking a cup of water.

I next to him, "Hey lonely," I said.

His eyes brightened as he noticed me, "Oh… hi. I thought you were talking to Shulk."

I shrugged, "They abandoned me. So what are you up to?"

He twirled his fingers together and smiled softly, "I was just thinking is all." I smiled because he was a sweetheart. He was pretty handsome too, like I said damn Japan and their hot anime boys. Except, Robin had more of a little brother persona and teen physique. I'm not saying he wasn't strong, I'm sure as hell he could beat me any day. It's just that he looked small under his thick cloak.

I looked around the room and saw some people playing cards. I grabbed his shoulder, "Want to grab a deck? You and I can play something."

Robin smiled, "Sure. Actually I have a deck right here," he pulled out a pack of cards from his pocket and began shuffling them. I asked him what he wanted to play, he said the name of some complicated Japanese card game. He tried to teach me, but I was completely lost in the complexity.

I taught him something much easier, go fish, and we played that for some time. When we got tired of that I noticed a crowd had gathered. I invited everyone to play and taught them all a new game called Mao. In the end, Toon Link, Olimar, male Wii Fit Trainer, an alternate Villager costume, Robin, and I were playing. Several others watched in fascination.

Mao was a lot like Uno, except it was for a deck of cards and can go on until the end of time. At the end of each round the winner comes up with a new rule for the rest of the players to figure out. Eventually we got to the point where Fit Trainer won so many times we had to do jumping jacks, pushups, and sit-ups every time a King showed up.

We played for what seemed like hours and I had never had so much fun in my life. A lot of my friends don't care for Mao, but it was one of my favorite card games. I was ecstatic that I was actually playing it with people who liked it. One of my favorite rules was when you put down a two you say, "Fuck you two." At first everyone looked at me. I thought I had made a terrible mistake, but then they laughed in realization.

I was also pleased to learn that Toon Link did have a voice, so I was going to assume regular Link had one too. He sounded just like the noises he makes. Well Toon Link did, and he sounded as he should, like a young child. He didn't talk much, but I tried to not stare at him when he did. It was just so exciting hearing his voice for the first time.

Halfway through our fifteenth or so round I saw normal Link walk up to watch for a bit. I looked at the two of them next to each other and smiled behind my cards. One of them was adorable, and the other was totally handsome, it almost wasn't fair.

When it was my turn I raised my last card, ready to slam it down. This would be my second win and I was so ready for it, but without warning everything around me dissolved into a spark of blue light.

Jesus lord how much were Carmen and Jack going to play today? This time the two were close to the TV and Jack didn't bother to put his shirt back on. I think the reason for that was because Carmen was wearing it.

Out of the blue he asked, "Hey are you and what's her face still living together?"

Carmen laughed, "You mean my best friend? Yeah. I have no idea where she is though. I hope she's alright, I mean, she left her phone here and all."

Jack set the controller down, "Wait she's gone and without her phone? Should we be worried?"

Carmen shook her head, "No. I mean, I know she's alright and all. I just meant I hope she'll be okay, if that makes sense. Look, I found a note while you were in the shower. It was on the kitchen table. Here I'll show you," Carmen stood and returned a moment later with a slip of paper in her hand. I was curious, and a little weirded out, because I hadn't written anything.

"See? Says she had to up and leave for a bit. Maybe she just forgot her phone, she'll be back I'm sure. It says something about a funeral and it's really far and with extended family and stuff. I don't know, but she'll call soon hopefully and tell us what's up."

The two averted their attention back to the screen, complacent with that answer. As I was selected I wasn't sure if I was pissed off or relieved that I had a cover. I knew Master Core had something to do with this. This whole fiasco was because of him.

My body felt numb, and without realizing it I was resisting the controller. I heard Carmen complaining, "This character is totally bugged. See nothing's happening."

Across from me Shulk was standing still as Jack fiddled with the other controller. He looked surprised and curious as the same time. I shrugged and bit my lip nervously. I'm sure they knew something was amiss here.

Jack mumbled something and stood to go do something. It was totally silent save for the music. I was about to open my mouth to say something, anything, to Shulk. To try and lessen the awkward, but before I could I suddenly rushed forward and off the edge. I respawned above him.

"Just needed new batteries."

Carmen took the remote, "Oh."

The fight lasted all of ten painful seconds. I didn't even get a single hit on Shulk, but I didn't really care. I thought I had been resisting again, and this time doing it really well too, but the batteries were dead. For a moment I was actually incredibly terrified that they would all realize I wasn't an actual character, but then as we fought I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they did.

The screens suddenly changed and this time we were facing only Jack. I heard Carmen say she was going to make dinner and Jack decided to do some online matches. I relaxed because Mii's can't fight online, but I still wondered why I was the only one on the selection board when the other two weren't.

Next to me, Sonic was giving me a strange look. Jack noticed it too and I realized that I _was_ on the roster, "What the fuck is a Mii fighter doing here?" he selected me and then unselected me.

He shook his head and ignored it. Sonic started talking to me but I wasn't really listening. I was focused on the world outside as he stood and went around to the side of the TV. I'm assuming he unplugged the console because the next thing I knew everyone was back in the ball room/dining hall or whatever.

"Why were you on the online roster?" I turned around at Sonic's demand. His accusation caused several members close by to look up in confusion. Someone who smelled nice patted me on the shoulder.

Shulk put his free hand on his hip, "I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this," he was calm and his general attitude towards this situation was making me feel better. At some point it had dawned on me that I may _not_ actually be dreaming, and that everything I was experiencing was truly real. I mean, how could my mind make up such precise details of everyone? How would I be able to hear, smell, and see everything so clearly?

I pursed my lips. Fucking Master Core, he will get his, I swear. Shulk tapped me on the shoulder and I realized everyone was still waiting for some type of answer. I guess I don't know what would've worked, but instead I decided to blame it on the asshole himself, "It's Master Core."

My voice was solid and a couple of people gasped at the blatant statement. Robin came running up and his grip on his book tightened. I noticed how he always seemed to have it out, "Are you… sure about that?" he asked nervously before looking around the room.

I nodded, "Something is clearly up with me. I know it, and Master Core has something to do with it."

"Are you saying _he_ might have created you?" everyone turned at the sound of Dark Pit's voice. I gulped and blinked several times. I really didn't know how to answer that, nor do I know where that idea could've come from.

"That's ridiculous," Shulk said in my defense. He crossed his arms and took a step towards Pit's doppelganger.

He only frowned, "I've had my suspicions for a while now. I seriously doubt she's from any real game, and if she's on the online roster than Master Core really does have something to do with this. I think he's just messing with our heads."

For once I actually wished Master Core would pop out of the blue and do something about this. Unluckily, or maybe luckily, he didn't. At least, so I thought. I opened my mouth to retaliate in some way, but said operator of the game came forth.

In a flurry of black spots he pushed Shulk and Robin away from me and wrapped his arms around my neck, "I didn't do anything. Although, I did think it would be funny to put her on the roster. I'll take her off if that makes you feel better," his voice was sarcastic and he sounded as though he were talking to little kids.

"Get away from her," Shulk's hand was on the handle of his sword. Robin had opened his book and was now gathering a ball of lighting in his hands.

Master Core laughed loudly, "Why do you keep bothering us?" Robin took a small step towards us but was stopped as I was pulled back into Master Core's awkward embrace.

"I'd stay away from us while I have her in my grip. You never know where I might slip – whoops!"

As he said that there was a sudden stinging in my left arm. Blood flowed out and stained my shirt.

I felt light headed and dizzy. I looked down and saw a somewhat deep yet small cut on my upper arm. It didn't hurt, but it stung like a day old paper cut. My eyes watered, but I didn't cry. I bit my lip and felt my body go lax in his grip.

He ruffled my hair, "Oh poor baby. I must have tired you out. I'll make it all better," without a second to spare Master Core flew up and phased us through the roof. We landed on his favorite stage, final destination, and he let me fall roughly to the floor.

My legs were wobbling like jelly, and I was almost positive it was something he was doing because I felt mostly okay. I mean, I was kind of pissed off, but that was beside the point.

"Seriously, what do you want?"

Master Core laughed darkly, "What we can't chat anymore?"

"I'm not your friend, your plaything, your doll, or… fucking whatever else."

He shook his finger at me, "Quite the contrary. You are however, most definitely, my prisoner. And as my prisoner, you shall do as I demand without question. Who knows? Maybe I'll let you out on good behavior!'

As he spat out the last word his hands flew out and gripped my throat. He pinned me to the ground and I struggled to breathe. My feet kicked in an attempt to get him off but he was intangible so the action did very little to help.

"Why can't you just leave me be?" I choked out. He suddenly let go and air flooded into my lungs. I coughed a couple of times before sitting up and rubbing the sore spot.

"That wouldn't be fun now would it?"

I glared up at him as Master hand and Crazy hand retreated, "It would for me."

He reached forward and pinched my noise to shake my hand. I felt awkward as he smiled evilly at me. Without warning he was on top of me, pushing me to the cold stage again. He held my hands at my sides and hovered over me with a growl in his throat.

"You know. I'm not really a human, but I was designed to have the same basic functions as them. Well, some of them. When I brought you here, I was rather overjoyed, even though all you do is piss me off."

I smirked at that, "That's what I do best."

With a snap of his fingers my mouth was sealed shut. I tried to talk but found that I couldn't. I awkwardly looked away, "Indeed it is," he said, "But you know… other than anger, I feel a few other things as well. I would have to say that one of them… would surely be pure, unadulterated, lust."

My eyes widened at the statement, _what the fuck?_ I thought. Was he seriously going to do something to satisfy that need? I sincerely hoped to god not.

He suddenly paused his words and sat up slowly. "Hmm. It's coming."

I raised an eyebrow at the statement. What was coming?

He brushed off his hands and set them on his hips, "Ah well… no point in worrying about that now. Believe me sweetheart, the time will come. For now though, I'll leave you alone. Oh, but first…"

Master Core let himself fall onto me. I thought he'd be heavy but all I felt were a thousand particles hitting my body and face. Something hit my mouth and I registered that he was kissing me. It felt weird and uncomfortable, and like there were a bunch of bugs crawling around on my face.

I shuddered at the feeling and soon found myself falling back into the mansion. I landed gently on my feet but soon crashed into a messy heap of sweat and pain. My whole body felt numb and my arm was still stinging. I was behind the crowd of smashers and Robin pushed his way through to kneel down next to me.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm…" suddenly the entire mansion went dark. I couldn't see anything. I could feel Robin close by as he laid a hand on my shoulder. I moved so I was sitting cross-legged, "What's going on?"

Robin sat next to me and I unconsciously reached for his hand, "I believe the game is being updated. This is the first time since we came out. I wonder what will change…"

I squeezed his hand to get his attention, "What kind of update?"

"Maybe a patch or something. I… honestly don't know."

I wondered why it was so dark. Did the game shut down while this was happening? I tried not to gasp at the sudden tingling going through my veins. I held Robin's hand tighter, "I so don't like this…" I felt myself beginning to shake. I was never a huge fan of the dark, but a few moments after the lights went out, the entire room went eerily quiet. The smashers weren't saying a thing, and that's what concerned me the most.

It's never been this quiet. Quite frankly, it was a bit unsettling. I felt my breath quicken and I suddenly felt incredibly claustrophobic. I wasn't normally like this, but everything was just happening so fast and without warning. In the darkness it began to dawn on me that I may never return home, that this is where I was destined to live from here on out. I couldn't do that, could I? I was in a game, where everything here exists because of some numbers and binary pages, I shouldn't be here. I don't belong here. I _couldn't_ belong here.

This was a mistake, _I_ was a mistake. Something was very, _very_ wrong.

And what about my friends? My family? Surely they've noticed, as Carmen had so clearly demonstrated, but I'm not her main focus right now. What will happen in a month? What will happen when she realizes I'm still gone? I heard someone suck in a breath and I realized I had Robin's hand in a vice-like grip.

"S…Sorry," I stuttered.

Without warning, Robin wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I could feel the sleeves of his robe against my face as he put his chin on the top of my head. He had a protective aura about him, and it reminded me of my father's hugs. I felt a wave of tears well up in my eyes before letting them fall freely down my face.

I was so scared right now.

The only thing on my mind was home. _Would I ever return?_


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

Stuck here in the dark. My friends. My family. Why would _he_ do this to me?

My body was still shaking and Robin silently held me. I wonder if the update didn't allow them to talk or something. The tingling in my blood was now turning into a soft vibration. It felt like my entirety was being rewritten from the ground up.

My voice caught in my throat and suddenly I could no longer speak. Whatever spell that was holding the smashers captive, had gotten to me too.

Robin started rubbing small circles on my back and I leaned into him. He smelled like sour apples and honey. A weird mixture, but still comforting nonetheless. I hiccupped a few times and shook a little more, and then I began to feel better. Robin's silent gestures made me feel safe for the moment, and I was grateful.

It felt like an eternity had passed, and when the lights finally returned I was nearly blinded. I blinked away the spots and found that I was still clutching Robin tightly in my arms. I almost didn't want to break the comforting embrace, but when the smashers started to come to I began to feel awkward.

I let go slowly and found that my legs had gone numb. At some point, we had sunk to the ground and my legs were folded underneath me in probably the most unnatural looking way.

I stood on shaking legs and Peach walked up to us and smiled softly, "Looks like we have a new challenger."

She pointed towards the large doors in the front of the mansion. I had been so encompassed with my thoughts that I hadn't noticed that we had been moved to the entryway.

The doors opened and a white light filled the room. Two pristine feline feet gingerly stepped out onto the polished floor. My eyes widened as Mewtwo stepped out and crossed his, (hers? It's?), arms. For simplicity I'll call Mewtwo a he. Even though he has a girl's voice in… whatever that one movie or show was.

Also, god, I haven't seen him since melee.

I've clearly missed something. Since when did he join the fight? Was that the new update? I didn't know we were getting new characters. I mean, that's cool, but I've been missing so much it seems. Oh god, what about school? How long have I even been stuck here?

The smashers began to immediately crowd the front door. Mewtwo didn't say anything, and while he looked pissed beyond all reason, he was shaking everyone's hand, well really letting everyone shake _his_ hand, and nodding and being polite.

If I remember correctly, that angry face was just _his_ face. Mewtwo's tail twitched and he turned his head in my general direction. I stiffened, but when I heard Pikachu skittering across the floor I figured he wasn't looking at me.

Pikachu bounced happily and Mewtwo gave him a small high five.

He still looked pissed beyond reason, and I realized that I didn't really know all that much about Mewtwo, or Pokémon in general.

I could remember vague bits of information of how he was like an experiment or something, but that's all really.

A small head poked out from behind Mewtwo. I briefly wondered how we had missed the second newcomer but when he came out I saw that it was Mewtwo's evolved form. I felt my eyes widen a bit, I wonder why he was here. I knew there was no way in hell that any of the trophies were unlocked, so my only guess was Mega Mew or whatever was part of his final Smash.

Mini mega Mew did a little spin in the air and everyone began cooing and talking to him. I mean, he was totally adorable, but he looked just as mad as Mewtwo.

Someone patted my shoulder and I jumped. I turned and saw Robin smiling softly, "He had quite the entrance there. He must be something new, something other than the preprogramed unlockable's."

 _DLC,_ I thought. That would certainly explain why the whole game just seemed totally frozen for a bit. I suddenly felt terribly conscious about being here. I got one of those feelings were its like, you know everyone whose around you, and you're pretty good friends with them, but when they go off to do something that doesn't concern you, you feel left out. I'm not even sure if that made sense, but they were all so excited and welcoming to Mewtwo. I just… wasn't a part of that.

I felt some of my spirits draining, so instead I forced myself to put on a happy face and turned towards Robin, "Have you talked to him yet?"

Robin shook his head, "I'm waiting for the air to clear a bit. Besides, I uh… wanted to make sure you were alright."

He smiled kindly and I think I felt my heart twist a little, "Why don't you join the others? I think I need to go lay down for a bit. If you don't mind of course."

"Oh!" Robin took a small surprised step back and rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah! Yeah of course, absolutely. You're probably exhausted I bet. Yeah go ahead, I won't keep you here."

I smiled and walked off quickly. I hadn't even made it to the first step before the tears started falling.

When I was safely behind the door I let out a slow, long sigh. It felt like there was a knot forming in the back of my neck and right now I just wanted to lie down and cry until I threw up. I couldn't believe it, this was so fucked up. Why was I here? _How_ was I here?

I mean damn, why me?

I'm not cool, I'm not terribly attractive, I don't have any powers, and all I do on stage is wave a gun around. I'm not even in control of my own body when the game is on, I was just a pawn now!

My butt hit the floor and I fell over trying to stand up again, so instead I allowed myself to lay there on the carpet. It wasn't soft carpet either, it was the coarse scratchy kind.

The carpet's smell deceived the way it felt. It smelled like soft, fresh laundry, but felt like barbed wire. Despite the pain I continued to lay there and inhale the smell of the floor. It felt weird not wanting to get up and find a more comfortable place, but I was too lost in thought to prioritize things right now.

My body started shaking and I started to grow angry. I hit the floor several times and resisted the urge to scream so no one would hear my fit. I looked up to see that I had, at some point, crawled towards the mirror in the corner.

I guess I wanted to torture myself with my red eyes and frizzy hair. Master Core didn't come to torture me or make fun me as I thought he would in my weakened state. Instead it was just myself, alone in a dark room with nothing but the sound of my tears to listen to.

After a while I found the strength to crawl up on the bed and curl into the smallest ball that I was physically able to do. I was homesick. That was it. I was not only afraid and worried and confused, but I was missing reality. Sure this was a cool experience and all, but this isn't my life. I had been taken in the strangest way possible.

I think the worst part of all though, is knowing that no one will ever be able to find me.

The knock on my door startled me. I jumped and smoothed down my hair, "Yeah?" my voice was shaky, but I hoped it wasn't too obvious.

Shulk's voice streamed through the door, "I saw you run off. I just wondered if you were okay."

I wiped the tears from my eyes and forced on a smile even though he couldn't see me. I rolled over so that I could look at the door, but I made no move to get up and open it. I decided to snuggle under my blankets, "Yeah I'm okay…"

"Can I come in? Is that alright?"

I bit my lip. Then, I slowly started to stand. Maybe his nice smelling cologne would cheer me up. He didn't wear the other one, but whatever he wore smelled nice too. I opened the door and he paused for a moment, probably taking in my wild hair, and puffy eyed glory. I stepped aside to let him in.

I shut the door and he turned towards me abruptly, "Mii? You… your eyes," Shulk reached up and brushed some of my hair out of my face. I looked up and saw him silently begging me to tell him what the matter was. I turned away because it's not like I could voice my fears.

My problems were irrelevant in this world. I couldn't just snuggled up in his arms and cry about how I'll never get to play Smash again, only be in it. To be honest, if I ever did escape, I don't know if I'd ever be able to pick up a controller again. It hurts too much to fight, and the fact that no one can do anything about it is just sad.

Shulk wordlessly hugged me when I didn't explain what was going on. Instead he smiled and started gently pulling me to the door, "Would you like to meet Mewtwo? He's very nice, despite his… exterior expression."

I smiled and let out a small airy laugh, "Okay… I guess I should say hi to him."

Shulk took my hand and squeezed it gently. He was such a sweetheart.

We walked down the stairs together and I was wrenched from his grasp as Peach spun me around, "There you are!" she said excitedly. She then proceeded to take me over to Mewtwo who was talking with Lucario and Pikachu.

Mewtwo was surrounded by a bubble of people still, but everyone had mostly turned to talk with one another. He spotted us and his long lavender tail swished gently. He crossed his arms and bowed.

"Konnichiwa."

I blinked, "Wha… hi?" I knew a little bit of Japanese from watching anime and such, but I didn't know how to speak it.

Mewtwo chuckled, "Pleased to meet you."

I shook my head, "Wait what? You can speak English? And Japanese too? Well I guess that makes sense… anyway uh…"

"Many of us speak Japanese. I was speaking out of habit." He turned away for a moment to look down at Pikachu who was trying to ask him something.

I felt someone lean over to whisper in my ear, "Some characters only speak in Japanese." It was Shulk's voice.

 _Like Marth?_ I thought. I wondered why that was, but I guess Sakurai just didn't want some people speaking English. I felt Peach interlock her arm with mine and laugh lightly. She said something to Mewtwo in Japanese. I suddenly felt awkward, but I tried my best not to shrink away.

Mewtwo nodded and they continued speaking in English, "You are a Mii, right?" he asked. I mean, his voice was so deep, how could he not be a guy?

I nodded, "Yeah. Call me whatever you'd like, I don't have a name…"

Mewtwo nodded, "Mm," and then turned towards Shulk, "Who is our Gamer?"

Shulk set his hands on hips and the light hit his Monado just right that it sparkled a bit in my eyes, "She looks a lot like her." He pointed to me, "she didn't name her after her and none of us really knew her well enough to know her name. We haven't seen her in a while, usually just her friends have been turning on the game every once and a while."

Mewtwo nodded, "Interesting." I opened my mouth to say something, I don't really know what, when a blue light surrounded us. I suddenly stood lined up with everyone else, but instead of Sonic, Mewtwo was directly next to me. He shot me a look, not angry, just his face I guess, and then floated a little in the air as he was selected.

"Mewtwo!"

"Oh my god thank you Sakurai. You're a fucking genius, Carmen check out the update! It's Mewtwo! I'm so excited!" Jack started an online match. He we watched from our lineup and on screen I could see two Mewtwo's against one another. Jack Mewtwo won, and then he played again against a pink hooded Little Mac and lost. He played for maybe an hour with just Mewtwo. We all watched helplessly at the pained expression on his face and how his eyes twitched every time he got hit. Finally, he'd had his fill and turned off the game. Back in the entryway Mewtwo was panting slightly but his arms were still crossed.

Peach simply patted him on the back and then walked away to talk to Mario when he walked up. I turned away from Mewtwo, not really knowing what to say, and I ran face first into Shulk's chest. I blushed at his sudden appearance, "Oh sorry," I said awkwardly.

Shulk rubbed the sides of my arms, "Are you feeling any better?" I nodded honestly. It not fun watching the smashers fight one another, now that I knew their pain, but not getting picked was nice.

I smiled up at him, "Yeah. Hey, would you like to play something?"

He put his arm around me and turned as we walked off towards the ballroom, "Sure." Shulk led me to a closet that when he opened, revealed a ton of games. The first thing I thought of was how there were games in a game, gameception… Anyway I saw twister and immediately wanted to play that, except Shulk was a guy. Except, I also didn't really care. I looked at some of the other titles and just couldn't decide so I just started pulling a bunch of random one's down. Twister, Sorry, Topple, Cards Against… wait that's in here? Oh, my god, yes. "We're playing this," forget twister. We're playing cards.

Shulk laughed at my enthusiasm, and I was glad that everyone had a twisted sense of humor around here too. "Alright, let me go get some others then. I'll meet you over there?"Shulk pointed towards a lone round table. I agreed and he headed off. I went over to the table and began shuffling the deck. A chair scooted out and suddenly Robin was sitting there.

I shuffled his silver hair and smiled. I was feeling a lot better now, I guess earlier had just been a moment of weakness. "What are you up to?" he asked with one eye closed and my hand still on his head.

"Shulk and I were going to play some more cards. These ones are better though," I held up the deck and his eyes widened.

"Oh," he said awkwardly.

I titled my head at him, "Do you want to play?" Robin shook his head and went quiet. I got the feeling that he doesn't really like this game much.

I opened my mouth but a pair of hands covered my eyes without warning. "You were about to play cards against humanity without me?" screamed a girly voice. I moved the hands away and looked up at female Robin. She was smiling wildly and I just laughed.

"You're welcome to join us," I offered her some cards.

"Absolutely!" She moved to sit down next to her male counterpart. Not a moment later Shulk and his friends arrived. Shulk sat next to me with Reyn and Riki following suit. A couple of people had gained interest and I saw Ike and Peach standing in the background, I motioned for them to join if they wanted. Ike sat while Peach came to stand behind me. Robin stood and I watched him awkwardly shuffle away. I was about to say something, but I just closed my mouth instead. I didn't really know what to say.

I began passing out the cards, "Does everyone know how to play?"

"Yup," came the replies. And so the game began.

I laughed so hard at everyone's dirty responses. We had a couple of wild cards and people would write this or that. They were all so dumb and silly that I almost couldn't believe that a few hours ago I was crying about home. Now I was crying about how "When I was tripping on acid, black people turned into white people." It was just silly nonsense and I was tired so I guess that made it funnier.

Riki ended up winning, which is funny because he seemed the most innocent out of all of us. When we finished up, fem Robin noticed my other games and pulled out twister, declaring that we all need to loosen up a bit. The smashers helped her setup and I watched them from my seat. It suddenly dawned on me that these are just regular people. Well, besides some crazy powers, but on the inside they were normal like me. They were cool, funny, had odd senses of humor, and liked to have fun with their friends.

For some reason I was thinking they were different, like they were on a whole other level or something. Maybe it was because they were from a video game and I couldn't comprehend being here, I don't know. One thing for sure though, these guys knew how to have fun.

Robinnette finished and she pulled her pigtails into a low ponytail. She looked directly at me and curled her finger as if to say " _come hither."_

I stood and made my way over to the sheet. I made sure that my belt was tight around my shirt and cracked my neck, "One on one sister," I said while taking off my shoes.

"Oh you're on, I'm pretty flexible, so let's see how you hold your own."

"Left hand purple," Shulk said.

Right, this sheet was a little bit bigger, and had a couple more colors. It had orange and pink and purple on top of red, yellow, blue, and green. The dots were a little bit smaller than average and I could still easily do the splits from end to end, but that didn't make it any easier. I had never seen a twister game like this, but I suppose there's a first for everything. Anyway, this is Smash, where all kinds of things can happen.

"You're going down," I said as I placed my right foot on yellow.

"I don't think so. Ooh you're lucky I don't use Elwind and knock you down!" I laughed and when the next move was called she purposefully moved over me so that she could sit on my back. She wasn't heavy, but I wasn't that strong. I felt my arms shake a little as I tried to keep her up.

"Dude…" fem Robin laughed. In the end she won, and I was tired as shit. I fell back panting and she sat on me again and waved her arms in victory. We stood and got off to let the guys play. At some point Dunban had appeared and I suddenly felt very conscious that he had been watching me twist myself into knots. He played against Reyn and Riki while Shulk spun and the whole time I couldn't help but think _bring it on fanfiction._ Okay, okay I'm a nerd. I'll admit that. But it's more fun that way, right?

Robin and I were losing it at their poses. At some point Riki had gotten squashed in between Reyn and Dunban's legs. He was flailing his little arms in panic as his ears just barely kept him up. "Riki no like this position! Why hom hom friends do this to him?" Robin clutched her sides and was laughing into my shoulder. If I didn't know any better I would've sworn she was drunk. I looked over and saw Shulk holding in a giggle or two and I randomly flicked the board when he couldn't get a hold of himself.

Dunban won that round, and then Robin pulled me in for round two. The other Robin joined us awkwardly and out of nowhere, and on the other side a fourth person joined. Ike was standing there with his arms crossed and a confident expression. I punched my palm with my fist, pretending I was getting ready for a fight, "So it's me versus Fire Emblem huh?"

They all smirked at me. Female Robin laughed and pointed at me, "You're going down!"

"Right hand orange," this time Peach had appeared and was spinning. Throughout the game, there were several funny moments where I was sprawled across someone. I also briefly wondered what Sheik would look like playing this, she was probably the most flexible out of everyone. I also wondered what a disaster Kirby would be with his short little arms and legs. He was so cute though, so I'm sure it would be adorable to watch. At one point we were like a Linkin logs house. My head was below Ike's chest and my legs were above female Robin's, and male Robin was below his female counterpart's legs and over Ike's. I looked over just in time to see someone snap a photo.

I made a silly face, "Do it again." Marth snapped a second photo and everyone laughed and that threatened to topple us. It did the trick and it became a domino effect. Ike fell first, which brought me down which brought down Robin which brought down other Robin. We fell into a laughing and sweaty square of people. Despite being crushed under Ike, I was laughing so hard. I tried to push the blue haired man off of me but he was kind of heavy. I mean, muscles and all I guess.

Without warning Ike wrapped an arm around my neck and started tousling my hair. "Hey stop!" I said through giggles. Suddenly female Robin sat on my legs and started tickling my sides. I was laughing uncomfortably hard right now and I was struggling to get away. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they stopped. I sat up breathing heavily and fake glared at them, "You're terrible." They just laughed. We stopped playing twister, thank god because I was way too tired for it, and decided to just not move for a while.

There were some couches by the windows in the ballroom so everyone super tired headed that way. I ended up ditching Xenoblade for Fire Emblem and as I sat there listening to everyone talk I began to notice that everyone seemed to stay by the other people in their game. In the big ballroom most of the smashers were here. I could see the Legend of Zelda characters playing charades, Kirby and company were eating, and the Wii fit Trainers were having a pushup contest. The fact that there were no other Mii's here made me a little bit sad, but at the same time I was grateful because it meant no one would know I wasn't actually a Mii.

Female Robin appeared out of no where and fell down, landing her head in my lap while sending me a goofy smile. I patted her head and sat back into the comfortable couch. Fire Emblem characters were funny, at least I thought so. Chrom had appeared and while he was attractive, he wasn't as hot as Dunban. Seriously I don't think anyone here could beat him in the looks department. Anyway, Chrom was standing and talking to Ike and fem Robin shot up to jump on his back.

Chrom stumbled for a moment, but let her stay there as she hugged him. I thought it was cute the way they were. I remember she told me that everyone knew the end of their game, and I guess she liked the route where they got married. On my left male Robin was sitting there quietly. He was listening to the conversation with interest and I flung an arm around him and grinned. He gave me a funny look and I only shrugged and leaned on him. God I was tired. Twister is tiresome, okay? I decided that Robin was comfortable enough to lay on so I used his lap as a pillow.

He didn't seem to care and I just relaxed. I looked up at him and saw him smiling gently and I titled my head and sat up, "Hey are you okay? You've been kind of quiet all day."

He nodded, "Oh… yes I'm fine. I appreciate you asking. I'm usually quiet, I listen a lot, Robin and I may share the same face, but our personalities couldn't be more different."

"Okay," I started to lay back down but out of the corner of my eye I saw Shulk coming up to us. He smiled at me and motioned for me to follow. I looked at Robin, smiled, and then stood up. I followed Shulk back to the Xenoblade characters where Metal Face had decided to say "what the hell" and join us for a game. My mind felt heavy, and as I looked around I couldn't help but notice that everyone else looked fine.

I was beginning to wonder if the rooms were just for show, it seems as though everyone is always either in the ballroom or the hallway. I played a round of Sorry before beginning to feel really tired. I was suddenly extremely exhausted. I laid my head down on the closest shoulder and shut my eyes. Whoever it was wrapped their arm around me and chuckled, "Sleepy?" he asked jokingly.

"No I'm awake," I said with my eyes closed. I was leaning on Shulk now, and he didn't seem to care either. I let myself drift away and fall into semi-consciousness despite the noise. Maybe it was all the laughing, I don't know. I don't know why I was so tired. I didn't really care though, Shulk was pretty comfortable, plus he smelled good, plus his arm was warm. I stopped thinking and let myself fall asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

I jumped a little when I woke up.

I had been dreaming about deodorant being made of sunshine and Unicorn fur when I heard a loud bang from down the hall. My arms felt heavy as I stood, but when I went out to investigate the noise everything was fine.

Looking over the ledge at the top of the stairs, I couldn't help but notice that no one was in sight. I felt my head tilt in confusion and I made my way awkwardly down the stairs with pins and needles in my legs.

At the bottom of the steps I looked back and forth but the place was completely empty. A random breeze blew back my hair and I shivered, what was going on? Where did everyone go?

Looking to my left, the massive front door caught my eye. It was open ever so slightly, and I went over to investigate. I opened the door and looked out into the massive expanse of darkness. There was nothing to see, so there was no way the smashers could've gone out there.

I shut the door, but it wouldn't close all the way. Whatever I did it would just bounce back open. I felt a little creeped out at that so I let it be. I turned around hesitantly and called out for someone, anyone. All I got in response was my own voice echoing back at me.

A wave of awkward washed over me and I rubbed my palms against my arms as I walked back up the steps. It was so silent, I felt like I was in a haunted mansion or something.

I looked down to count the steps out of boredom, but I gasped when I saw my legs flickering like static. I stopped moving and looked at myself. I looked my hands, my arms, my stomach, it was all grey and out of focus.

I tried my best not to panic, but that didn't happen. What was going on? Why did I look like the ring girl when she comes out of the TV to kill you? In the midst of my panicked thoughts, someone laughed above me. I looked around but I couldn't find the source of the voice. I automatically assumed it was Master Core.

"You're a tough one to keep settled."

Somehow the sound of his voice brought some type of normality back. Though he sounded snarky as usual, I was complacent knowing that he was still somewhere taunting me, and if that's possible then I was still alive (I think) and in Smash. I sighed, "What do you mean?" I stilled myself and looked around.

He materialized in front of me and I crossed my arms. He chuckled and set his hands on his hips, "You're dreaming. Unlike in your world though, your body is trying to escape back to reality. But I won't let you leave just like that. You sure do like to fight though, awake or not."

He disappeared in a cloud and flew up through the ceiling. I blinked a couple of times and looked down again. My body had stopped flickering so fast, but now it was sort of twitching in and out of sight.

I tried to ignore it and I went to go sit on the first step of the stairway. I put my head in my hands and I felt someone lean their back against mine. I growled, "Where are the others then?"

"The smashers? Hon, this really is a dream. Such a hardhead. I even gave you the truth and you still doubt me. You have a complex mind that's full of more than just binary coding and numbers. When you sleep you don't just go into a rest cycle like the others. You are still very much a virus to this game, and right now I'm trying to fix that."

Master Core turned around and wrapped his arms around my neck and I could feel his head as he laid it on my shoulder. I wanted to cringe, but he had me in a tight hold.

"So what?" I said tiredly, "Where exactly am I?"

He sighed and all of his little dots moved around me. He stood before me and crossed his arms, "Your mind is in between. See that? It's a clipping texture. And that behind you? Tilt your head and you'll see a massive world hole. Your body is trapped here but your mind is still fighting. I rather like your spirit."

"Then where is my real body? Is it flickering out in the real world somewhere?" maybe there was hope of escape after all.

Master Core shook his head, "Oh no. No. I can see you right now. I can see into reality and nothing's happening, it's just like when I pulled you in. By the way, I had planned to do it in your sleep, but clearly my timing is just a little off. You just looked so… easy to pull when you were relaxed in the shower like that. Besides, you're reaction was priceless."

A shiver and a blush crept up my neck. I moved to hug myself, "You are the strangest thing in the entire fucking universe."

Master Core paused and then kept talking. I swear it's like he doesn't even hear me sometimes, "I can see all the smashers too, and oh how darling, the blond haired one has his arm around you. He's such a sweetheart," he said in a condescending voice.

I could tell that he was looking past me, but when I turned around all I could see were the flight of stairs. I bit my lip and turned back to him again, "What do you… Shulk? You can see me?"

He made a "duh" noise, "Of course. I'm the master of this game. I can see every little detail, every line of code, everything there is to see in this game, and even out of it. Trust me, I have my eye on you. Though, I suppose it's time you wake up. I'm sensing someone approaching the Wii U."

No sooner had he said that, he rushed me. He came at me so fast that he did, in fact, wake me up. My eyes opened and I sucked in a startled breath. I looked around wildly, expecting some sort of pain, but all I managed to see were Shulk's big blue eyes.

"Woah! Hey, are you alright? You were sleeping so peacefully just now."

I was still breathing heavily and I started straightening my shirt out of nervous habit, "I'm okay…"

I was going to say more, I didn't know what, but I was surrounded by a halo of light as the game was turned on. When I turned my head I was jumped when I saw a giant purple and white cat glaring at me, but then I remembered that he was a new character. I still wondered why he was at the end though, maybe it was just a DLC thing.

"Oh my dick! It's Mewtwo!" I looked up at the unfamiliar voice. It wasn't Jack or Carmen, it was some other dude. Behind him were about three others. Then I saw Jack enter the picture with a beer in one hand and a controller in the other.

Carmen and our friend Amelia walked in smiling. I realized what was going down. It was a smash party.

I gulped very, uncomfortably, hard. I really didn't want to be played right now. Well, I was a Mii so most likely no one would pick me. Besides, I've been dubbed a shit character, and as much as that stings maybe they'll leave me be. In reality though, who really mains a Mii?

Jack passed out the game cube controllers and I watched, slightly offended. That was all of my stuff they were so frivolously tossing about. Okay sure, I loved getting with my friends and playing smash, but the fact that I didn't know any of these nerds bothered me. Seriously though, I bought the controllers, the console, and most importantly, the game. And Carmen was letting them do what they wanted. Great.

I took in a deep breath. Have some faith in her. She was my roommate for a reason. Reason one, she liked games as much I. Reason two, she had no problem keeping things clean and picking up after herself. I felt a little bit better knowing that my apartment was (hopefully) in good hands.

Carmen talked to Amy while the boys got on with it. They opened eight player smash even though there were only six of them, and they all took turns playing Mewtwo. We were seven rounds in when they decided to take a minute to order a pizza. Specifically, an extra-large, stuffed crust pizza with too many meats to keep track of.

Despite thinking calming thoughts of what kind of person Carmen is, I still got frustrated.

Damn it Carmen, why are you letting Jack do this? He's going to make a mess I'm sure of it. This is our apartment! She better clean up when all of this is said and done. I glanced over at Mewtwo and saw that his eye was twitching from being played so much.

I pursed my lips and felt kind of bad for him. I don't know what the smasher's had told him, but I thought back to my first time in the ring. It was a painful surprise. I reached out and put my hand on Mewtwo's shoulder, I barely reached, but I managed to make contact. Damn, for a test tube cat he was tall.

Mewtwo jumped a little, and then turned his head sharply to stare at me with his unblinking lavender eyes. I blinked back, and smiled softly. His gaze softened for a split second, and then he was chosen again.

"I want to play a round," Carmen picked up the pro-controller and sat down next to Jack. I still didn't understand why she preferred that controller over the game cube one, but I guess to each is own. Carmen hovered over Lucina, and I almost cried as she picked me instead.

"You really do like her huh?" Jack said while jabbing her gently with his elbow. Carmen laughed and leaned on his shoulder.

"Yeah…" she sounded kind of sad, "she reminds me of E. I miss her, I hope she comes back soon. I'll have to give her mom a call soon and make sure everything's okay. It's been nearly a week."

The name rang about hundred bells in my head. I felt a massive headache coming on and the worst part was that I couldn't double over to curl up into a ball. E. That was one of my many nicknames. But what came after that? What were the other letters? Damn it! Why can't I remember!

"Then I'll play my main."

I watched Jack's eyes move across the screen as he selected his character, "Shulk!"

I groaned.

My feet clanked loudly against the metal Pyrosphere. This time there were four people playing, the others had decided it would be faster to go get the pizza themselves. They also mentioned something about smoking and I was glad they were doing out of the apartment.

On the other side of the screen I saw Carmen, Jack, a boy with dark brown hair, and another who was blond with thick wiry glasses. Amy was sitting in the chair off the side and was watching with her legs crossed.

"Begin!" the announcer's voice jerked me from my thoughts and I was forced to dodge as Shulk immediately went for me. It was a free for all and it was me against Shulk, Olimar, and Ganondorf.

I took a few pikmin to the face, and then was immediately side smashed by Ganon and flew so fast out of the ring that I thought I was Sonic for a second. I killed Olimar twice, and then Ganon, before getting knocked out again.

We didn't have any items except the smash ball on and Olimar ended up being the one to use it. He killed everyone with it and that was my last life. I couldn't say I wasn't relieved. For once, I was glad Carmen kind of sucks at smash.

I mean, okay she wasn't bad, but she was no top player either. She was pretty average really. Jack usually was a smash beast, and from what I could remember he spent an ungodly amount of time playing it like your average game lover.

I cringed as Shulk was knocked out of the ring. Before, I always thought he had the best/funniest/most blood curdling screams, but now that I heard them from this angle I couldn't help but feel a little bit bad for him. I knew what it felt like now, and I couldn't believe that this is what was really going on inside smash.

Ganon ended up winning, and I wasn't surprised. Carmen played again, this time not as me but as Lucina, and they went for round two. Jack chose Shulk again and his friends played Lucario and Palutena respectively.

"Teams?" Jack suggested.

"Okay," Jack and Carmen were on a team and changed their outfits so that they kind of matched.

"Wait, wait," Jack started laughing and then picked Ike, "game buddies!" he said.

Lucario guy switched to Dark Pit and laughed, "Okay sure. Dark Pit is best Pit after all. So edgy."

"Is little Pittoo your main bro?"

Jack's friend laughed, "Totally."

From somewhere behind me in the crowd of smashers I thought I heard someone shout, "Hey!" angrily, but I'll never know as the match started.

Blue team won, which was Lucina and Ike. Carmen smiled and then turned to everyone, "Let's all play Mii's and suck together."

I watched as they laughed and started messing around with the settings. They made us huge first of all, then they gave us bunny ears and a starting damage of three hundred percent. In other words, this was just a punch and fly match.

I landed on the now too small stage with three other Mii fighters. There were two swordsman, and a brawler. They made it a timed match and I was the first to die.

The match went a lot faster than I expected. Actually it was kind of funny really. I didn't feel too much pain because it was going so quickly. It was a one hit kind of thing so getting beat wasn't that bad.

They did the round again, except this time with a bunch of Ness's. Now thanks to that I'll have "PK fire!" stuck in my head for weeks. The group did a couple of more matches that were just silly like that, and then the food arrived.

Everyone got up to eat in the kitchen and I was grateful that they weren't a bunch of disrespectful punks. They turned off the game for something else, and I was relieved to finally have a break.

The smashers were all back where they had been left, but no one really felt like playing anymore games. I leaned my head on Shulk's shoulder tiredly as Reyn put away some of the games. I felt an arm snake around my waist and I smiled.

"Aw, you two look so lovely," Reyn commented. He had a big smile and was standing there with his hands on his hips. I stuck my tongue out at him and purposefully dug my head further into Shulk's shoulder. Damn he smelled nice. He was comfy too. In real life he looked smaller. He seemed like he had bony shoulders and a broad chest, but turns out only one of those things were true. And it definitely wasn't the shoulders.

Reyn laughed and I heard an excited voice chirp up, "New hom hom friend likes Shulky!"

I blushed a little and awkwardly separated myself from Shulk's arms. I didn't really want to, but the pull to squeeze Riki was just too much. I tackled him without warning and squeezed him hard. He made a cute little noise and I laughed.

"Hom hom friend like Riki too," Reyn said in a Riki-like voice. I rubbed my cheek against his furry face and sighed.

"Mmhmm," I responded. I hugged him again and then set down the dazed nopon. He spun around before falling over and landing on his face, his eyes not focusing on anything as he made a bunch of random noises of confusion.

God I loved these Xenoblade guys. I needed to play that game… well, if I ever get out. I felt my smile fall and I leaned back and landed butt first on the tiles. Reyn sat down next to me and wrapped his arm so fast around my neck and pulled me in that I didn't know what was happening until it was happening.

Reyn started rubbing the top of my head with his fist and I started swatting at him, "Hey cut it out! Gah, why does everyone feel the need to mess up my hair!" I yelled jokingly.

To me Reyn felt like an older brother or best guy friend I never had. He was funny, knew how to cheer me up, and was totally weird.

I finally got him off me and scooted to the other side of the quickly forming circle. Shulk followed me and sat next to me when I stopped moving around. Riki sat on my right and Dunban was between him and Riki.

"What 'cha up to?" female Robin appeared out of nowhere, shoving herself between Shulk and I with a wild grin. Across the way Ike sat next to Reyn and Peach next to him. Robin threw her arms around my neck and landed on top of me.

I tried to push her off and when I couldn't I sighed dramatically, "Everyone is so abusive to me!"

Robin ran her fingers through her long white hair and squeezed my head, "It's because we all love you so." She nuzzled her head against mine and I laughed. She finally got off and moved over, pushing me as well. She patted the floor to make room for Chrom.

I leaned over Robin a little to get a better look at him once more. As I've stated many times before, he was pretty attractive. I could see why Robin would fall for him. He had a gentle smile that made him seemed pleased with life, and I noticed how he was holding Robin's hand in a gentle grip.

I smiled and turned as someone sat next to me. Riki moved to the side and male Robin showed up and sent me a smile.

"So… what do guys want to do?" someone said from across the circle. I think Ike was talking.

"Yes," female Robin said before falling onto Chrom's lap.

"Good glad that's settled," Ike crossed his arms and laughed. I tapped my chin in thought and was glad that these guys could get back up on their feet after the matches. I heard Pikachu talking from behind and I turned around to see most of the Pokémon having what looked to be cute little roll-on-their-back off.

I tapped Robin's shoulder to see if he knew what that was about, "What are they doing?"

He turned, "Oh they're showing off dominance. I think. Though, it doesn't really matter in this game. It's mostly for fun. Looks like Mewtwo won again actually."

Mewtwo crossed his arms and chuckled. Pikachu frowned and hunched over and then immediately sprang back up as if nothing were wrong. Jigglypuff was staring off into the distance as if she (he?) were zoned out.

"It looks so cute," I stated.

Robin laughed, "Yeah. Don't tell that to them though."

I turned back around and wondered why everything the Pokémon characters did was cute. I crossed my arms, "How about… truth or dare?"

Ike titled his head, "What's that?"

I smiled and leaned back. I was a little surprised that no one knew about it, but that's okay, "It's pretty self-explanatory. Does anyone have a bottle or something we can spin?"

"We can use this?" Robin took out his book and a small dagger. He kept the dagger sheathed and attached it to the book before throwing it out to the center. It hovered and bounced and spun in lazy circles.

"Woah cool," I said, "alright that works. Uh so, the way it works is someone spins and whoever it lands on gives that person a dare, or asks them to tell the truth. I'll go first." I spun the book and it twirled, I was glad that the dagger was somehow staying on it. The point landed on Peach. I smiled, "Okay Peach truth or dare?"

Her eyes widened, "Oh hmm… Dare?" she was smiling with one eyebrow raised. Something told me that she could take it and dish it. Something in that smile told me I did not want to be on the receiving end of her dares.

"Alright…" crap now I had to come up with something, "I dare you to…" I looked around the room. Then I spotted the Pokémon, "I dare you to join their dominance off! Or whatever."

Peach followed my gaze and stood, "Easy," she said confidently. I laughed as she took off her heals, hitched up her skirt and marched over there. The Pokémon full on stared at her, and then she challenged Mewtwo. The best part was that she wasn't saying anything.

Somehow she won, and that made everyone laugh because all she did was laugh and roll around on the ground. She came back with her crown askew yet her hair still perfect.

"It your turn now," I said in between laughs. She spun it and it landed on female Robin.

She got really excited and hopped off Chrom, "Ooh dare me baby!" she screamed.

The game went on like that. I switched every other time, dare to truth to dare again. It mixed it up that way. My dares were silly, I got dared by fem Robin to switch pants with the person next to me, which was male Robin. His pants were baggy on me, but my leggings on him were not.

In others words a saw a lot of Robin I didn't think I would be, he tried his best to hide under his long coat but it didn't really cover all of him. Then I was forced to share my most embarrassing moment curtesy of Reyn. I decided to make one up that would make sense in game, and I said it was watching our Gamer do it with her boyfriend while they created me.

The second dare was debatably the best and most hilarious. Riki, who I thought I'd have it easy from, dared me to close my eyes and let the group chose someone to kiss me and that I was to guess. I was mildly worried that they'd pick a girl, but at the same time I could care less. We were all having fun anyway.

Someone had put a bandana over my eyes and had me cover my ears so I couldn't see or hear. I figured that Chrom was the only exception to this dare because otherwise Robin would throw a fit. After a few minutes I could hear again but my eyes were still covered.

"Is hom hom ready?" Riki asked.

I tried not so smile, "I guess. Bring it on furball."

I could smell whoever it was before I could feel their presence. The scent was familiar so I already knew who it was before it happened. I could feel his breath on my face and I laughed a little, "Wait is this Shulk?'

There was a wave of laughter. Whoever was in front of me backed away laughing, "How did you know? I didn't even do anything yet."

I took off the bandana and saw Shulk kneeling in front of me. My only regret was that we hadn't gone through with it.

"Dude I can smell you. As we've established, you smell great."

Shulk laughed and started to stand, I grabbed his hand, "Wait you didn't do the dare," I said coyly.

The crowd went "Ooh" and Shulk returned my look.

"Very well," Shulk leaned down and gently pecked my lips. It was quick and cute and for some reason it made the crowd cheer.

He went to go sit back down in his normal spot and I couldn't help but notice how hard my heart was beating. I've been kissed before, seriously I was no blushing virgin, but for some reason at that moment it almost felt like I was. I looked at everyone as I tried to hide my blush, but they had all resumed playing. I continued around the circle and when my eyes landed on Robin I noticed his head was downcast.

I felt my smile fall a little. He looked so sad. I reached out to rub his back and he jumped a little, "Are you okay?"

He blinked, "Oh… yes I" – before he could continue the book landed on him.

"Robin, truth or dare?" fem Robin asked.

He looked flustered for a moment, "Oh uh truth?"

Robin tapped her chin and played with her hair for a moment, "Okay… Who do you like then? You swore you'd tell me someday!"

All eyes turned to male Robin as his cheeks lit up in a spectacular display of red. He fidgeted a little and his eyes darted back and forth, "Oh… well... I like everyone."

"No! Buddy who do you like? Who would you like to date?" Fem Robin was smiling wildly and her male counterpart bit his lip.

Finally I saw him give in just a tiny bit, "Well… I like" –

Robin didn't get to finish as the game was turned on again. I think he was utterly relieved by the convenient timing, though he would probably never admit it. Now I was curious, but I could tell he was having a hard time spitting out the words.

I looked up and saw Jack playing allstar mode. His friends were in the background and everyone was laughing and talking to each other and having a good time.

It felt like a chord snapped inside me as I looked at them. My big smile from kissing Shulk disappeared completely, and that happy feeling in my chest had numbed so now I felt sad and hollow.

Would I ever be able to be with my friends like that again? Trust me, I liked my new friends, they were fucking awesome, but old bonds can't be broken so easily.

I listened as Jack talked to everyone and sometimes people would watch and walk in and out of the room. Sometimes they played online – this time I wasn't on the roster – or versus match. I loved smash so much. I loved it even more being in the game, but there was just so much confusion right now.

It's funny, all anyone ever wants is to escape reality. All we want is to jump into another world and live there happily and peacefully, whether it be a game, an anime, or a TV show. Ever since Melee I wanted to forget life and live in smash.

Now, all I want to do it run back to reality. Where normality is. Where I can trust what's going on in front of my face and not have to constantly watch my back because there's some asshole there.

I wanted my life back.


End file.
